<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>RWBY: The Maiden by LunaPendragon96</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28526175">RWBY: The Maiden</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/LunaPendragon96/pseuds/LunaPendragon96'>LunaPendragon96</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Final Maiden [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>RWBY</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Action, Action &amp; Romance, Action/Adventure, Adventure, Adventure &amp; Romance, Dark, Discovery, F/F, F/M, Family, Loss, M/M, Past, Romance, Suspense, Truth</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 21:01:33</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>59,630</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28526175</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/LunaPendragon96/pseuds/LunaPendragon96</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Salem has attacked Atlas. The kingdom is divided between those choosing to fight and those fighting for survival. Its heroes stand apart. Ruby can only watch as her comrades fall around her- first Nora, now Penny... As Salem continues to attack with overpowering force, the silver eyed Huntress wonders, can nothing truly stop her reign of destruction?  Yang, alongside her team, must enter the literal belly of the beast in search of the companion that has been taken from them, before Ironwood brings an untimely end to them all.  But, as their paths diverge and hope continues to fade, truths long buried will be uncovered by the most unlikely of players. A new Maiden shall rise and, with her, the truth behind Salem and the Maidens and the lost child that could be Remnant's last, and only, hope. (Takes place after Vol 8 ep 7)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Blake Belladonna &amp; Lie Ren, Blake Belladonna &amp; Nora Valkyrie, Blake Belladonna &amp; Ruby Rose, Blake Belladonna &amp; Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna &amp; Yang Xiao Long, Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long, Cinder Fall &amp; Emerald Sustrai, Cinder Fall &amp; Neopolitan, Cinder Fall &amp; Salem, Jaune Arc &amp; Blake Belladonna, Jaune Arc &amp; Lie Ren, Jaune Arc &amp; Nora Valkyrie, Jaune Arc &amp; Oscar Pine, Jaune Arc &amp; Ruby Rose, Jaune Arc &amp; Weiss Schnee, Jaune Arc &amp; Yang Xiao Long, Jaune Arc/Pyrrha Nikos, Lie Ren &amp; Nora Valkyrie, Lie Ren &amp; Ruby Rose, Lie Ren &amp; Weiss Schnee, Lie Ren/Nora Valkyrie, Neopolitan &amp; Emerald Sustrai, Nora Valkyrie &amp; Yang Xiao Long, Oscar Pine &amp; Hazel Rainart, Oscar Pine &amp; Lie Ren, Oscar Pine &amp; Nora Valkyrie, Oscar Pine/Ruby Rose, Penny Polendina &amp; Nora Valkyrie, Penny Polendina &amp; Weiss Schnee, Qrow Branwen &amp; Robyn Hill, Qrow Branwen &amp; Ruby Rose, Qrow Branwen/Clover Ebi, Ruby Rose &amp; Nora Valkyrie, Ruby Rose &amp; Summer Rose, Ruby Rose &amp; Weiss Schnee, Ruby Rose &amp; Yang Xiao Long, Team JNPR &amp; Team RWBY, Weiss Schnee &amp; Nora Valkyrie, Weiss Schnee &amp; Whitley Schnee, Weiss Schnee &amp; Winter Schnee, Weiss Schnee &amp; Yang Xiao Long</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Final Maiden [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2099385</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>144</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>122</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. The Dream</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hi! So with the RWBY hiatus still going strong I wanted to write my take on what I'd hope will happen next to our young heroes. I hope you guys enjoy the first chapter and feel free to drop a comment, I'll try my best to keep the updates coming :)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>“Eleanora…”</em>
</p><p>
  <em> The child could barely hear the voice, the rush of the wind against her ears was thunderous, it's cold touch as it ran across her body numbing. An unfamiliar weightlessness tugged at her stomach, pulling her down. Pulling her away from the voice. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Eleanora!” The voice pleaded again. This name, she didn’t know this name but this voice... it tugged at her memory but its identity eluded her, she reached out towards it but all she grasped was air that streamed through her fingers. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Who are you…? </em>
</p><p>
  <em> The child opened her eyes, dark clouds filled her vision, shifting slightly as she fell through them, their touch soft yet cold. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Who had called her? </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Ah, it must have been one of them...  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Through her daze she saw something, barely visible against the dark clouds. A grey airship, its propeller struggling to stay steady as large, dark birds harassed it, threatening to cause it to crash through the clouds as she was. Two women were looking out of an opening in the ship’s side, the metal had been ripped open, the only piece still attached swung in the increasingly aggressive winds. Maybe, soon, it too would follow her through the clouds. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> The child looked at the two women, their faces getting slowly smaller and smaller as she continued to fall away. Her groggy mind could not comprehend what she was seeing because she knew these two women and yet it felt impossible, for, to look upon one was to look upon her own face. This woman was reaching out towards her, threatening to fall after her. Her pale skin was flushed, her orange hair was flying wildly, her aqua eyes were surrounded by fire. The other woman beside her seemed to be holding her back, preventing her from following after the falling child.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Could it be? Was the other woman Ruby Rose? Her silver eyes were unmistakable, brimming with tears as she held back the fiery eyed woman, her red tinged hair framed her ghostly pale face, her white cape enveloped the pair in a beautiful cocoon.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Eleanora!” The orange haired woman shrieked, electricity coursing across her body as she continued to struggle against the woman that may have been Ruby but, who may have, just as easily, not been. The child’s mind was a jumble of pieces, none of which particularly fitting right. The bright eyed woman continued to reach out as far as her hand allowed. Yet, she had already fallen too far. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Eleanora!” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> The child stretched out a feeble hand towards the woman. The numbness was being replaced by a stinging pain that was spreading from the back of her head. Claws dug into her shoulders, jerking her painfully out of her fall. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Help me. She begged, her voice failing her as her world began to slowly fade into darkness.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Help me.  She pleaded with the woman that looked so much like herself. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Please, someone, help me. </em>
</p><hr/><p>“Penny!” Ruby yelled.</p><p>
  <em> This could not be happening!  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> This was not happening!  </em>
</p><p>And yet the young Huntress could not look away from the crater in which her friend was lying deathly still within. She shook her head, fresh tears threatening to spill as memories flashed before her eyes, from the Vital Festival, from the last time she’d seen Penny Polendina in a state like this… last time they’d believed she’d been… no! They wouldn’t let that happen again.  </p><p>Weiss was holding her back, struggling with the younger girl as electricity continued to crackle across the android’s body. Weiss feared that, if she hadn’t stopped Ruby as quickly as she had, they'd have had another patient to treat and they hadn’t been doing very well with their first one thus far. </p><p>“Whitley go to the kitchens.” Weiss ordered, looking past Blake, her hands covering her mouth, her ears drooped fearfully as she took in the sight of the collapsed girl, the green blood-like fluid continued to seep out, staining the ground with its fluorescent glow. “There should be an insulation blanket!”</p><p>“Will that even work?” He asked shakily, also looking at the girl, he’d seen the protector of Mantle more times than he would have liked in his young life but, seeing her there, broken and bleeding, the true seriousness of the situation slowly dawned on him.</p><p>“There’s only one way to find out!” Weiss called back, sparing her younger brother a brief glance. “Go! And hurry!”</p><p>Without another word the young teenager ran out of the entryway, through one of the passages that would lead him towards the kitchens. </p><p>“We’ve got to help her, Weiss!” Ruby begged frantically, struggling against her teammate’s grip but Weiss refused to release her, holding her arms as tightly as she could. Ruby looked between Weiss and Penny. “Weiss, please!”</p><p>Weiss knew, if Ruby had been thinking clearly, she very easily could have escaped using her Semblance. She would have been powerless to stop her now that they understood what it really entailed. </p><p>“Ruby, if you tried to help her like this you’d most likely get electrocuted.” Weiss tried to reason, she could smell the ozone of the electrocuted air from where she stood, she’d used lightning Dust enough times to recognise it without question.</p><p>“But…” Ruby began, looking back at the collapsed girl but a soft hand on her shoulder captured her attention. </p><p>“She’s right, Ruby.” Blake calmly said. “We all want to help Penny and we can’t if we get hurt ourselves…”</p><p>“Weiss!” Whitley's voice echoed through the hall before he appeared, running and half slipping on the polished tiles, a large grey bag clutched to his chest. “Is this it?”</p><p>Weiss spared the object in her brother's hand a quick glance, swiftly reading the print on its surface. It was meant to be used to deal with fires but, in theory, it should also work against electricity. </p><p>Weiss nodded her head. “Now we just need to wrap Penny in that and get her inside.”</p><p>“We have to hurry.” Blake agreed, taking the bag from Whitley’s hand and quickly running to the crater, gracefully jumping in. It was tedious work, May and Whitley also had to climb in beside her, making sure not to directly touch the injured girl and rolled her onto the blanket. It was only when she was securely on it, did Weiss release Ruby and the two ran towards the crater, carefully helping May and Blake as they tried to lift Penny up. With each of the women clutching an end of the blanket they carried her up the stairs into Schnee Manor, Whitley  running ahead to keep the doors open, oblivious to the fact that somehow, his usually pristine clothes had been stained with the green liquid. The Huntresses struggled with the weight of the android, she may not have looked it as she zoomed across the sky, but Penny probably weighed enough to cause even Nora to struggle.  As they continued to struggle up the stairs to Weiss’s room, Ruby kept shooting the unmoving girl concerned looks, hoping that she’d say something, or move, or show some form of life but, all that changed was the stain across her chest which continued to spread. </p><p>“Ruby, watch out!” Weiss yelled, causing the younger girl to jump and crash into the marble bust that had been blocking her way, unbeknownst to her. Ruby clumsily side stepped, causing the carrier and the unconscious girl within to sway precariously. The other three struggled to stop their load from crashing to the ground, succeeding with a small thump as Penny briefly collided with Weiss's door, which, upon sensing the new arrivals, slid open. At that moment, as Penny’s body came in contact with the electronic system of the door, a web of electricity bounced between the two, a series of golden sparks traveled across the door to vanish along with lighting of the whole mansion. </p><p>“I-I’m sorry.” Ruby sheepishly apologised as the darkness fell over the small group.</p><p>“We’re almost in the room.” Blake replied, her eyes being the first to adjust to the darkness. They were all worried for their friend, mistakes were bound to happen and reprimanding Ruby for it would do nothing but waste more time they couldn't afford. </p><p>“R-Right.” Ruby sighed, squinting her eyes into the darkness where the door had previously opened for them, the dim moonlight coming in through the window their only guide. </p><p>“What in tarnations has happened to the lights?!” Klein exclaimed as he saw the new arrivals carefully enter. His eyes then flashed pink as he saw the injured girl they had brought in. “W-who is this? W-what’s happened?”</p><p>“This is Penny.” Ruby quickly explained, as the small group carefully lowered the girl to the ground. Weiss tentatively knelt beside her, the scent of ozone had vanished, very possibly, when they had short-circuited the main power supply of the house, that may have helped calm some of Penny’s own circuits though, what that meant for an android she did not know. “We have no idea what happened but she’s in a pretty bad state…” Ruby’s voice trailed off.</p><p>Klein sighed, his eyes flashing to brown. “I can’t say your poor friend in the bed is any better.” The Huntresses exchanged a look, unable to stand any more bad news. “I’ve set her up with an IV drip, she’s extremely dehydrated and is covered in burns. If I didn’t know any better, from their pattern, I’d almost say she was struck by lightning…”</p><p>“Close enough,” Weiss admitted.</p><p>“She’s in stable condition for the time being.” Klein continued, “but she will not be waking up anytime soon, not until we can give her proper treatment…”</p><p>“It would be nice if Jaune were here.” Mused Blake, her ears flattening as she spoke her thoughts aloud. “He’d probably be able to help her with his Semblance.” </p><p>“Well moping around here won’t do us any good.” May countered, crossing her arms. “Mantle still needs us.”</p><p>“Does nothing phase you?” Mumbled Weiss, shaking her head at the Huntress.</p><p>“I’m sorry if I want to be somewhere actually helping!” May harshly replied, narrowing her eyes.</p><p>“Well!” Began Weiss, ready to answer the older woman but Ruby put a hand on her shoulder, silencing her friend.</p><p>“May, go. We understand you want to help Mantle and we have no right to stop you.” Said Ruby in an understanding voice. May had friends back in Mantle, she would not say it but she was worried for them, just as she was worried for Yang and the rest.</p><p>“We could really do with some more hands on the ground.” May said, looking pointedly at them but Ruby, Weiss and Blake shook their heads. </p><p>“Mantle needs you, our friends need us here.” Blake explained. </p><p>Although May didn’t seem happy with their answer she hadn’t expected anything else from the small group. Although they meant well, they often refused to see the bigger picture.</p><p>“Well, if you do find yourselves in Mantle, the Happy Huntresses are gathering civilians in the mines.”</p><p>“Thank you.” Ruby said, sparing the woman a small smile, appreciating what her words meant.</p><p>With nothing else left to be said, May Marigold nodded her head at the small group and left the room, using the moonlight streaming through the windows as her guide.</p><p>The small group stood in silence as the echoes of May’s steps slowly began to fade,  each being left to their own thoughts. Ruby looked down at her hands that had become covered in the green liquid Penny was still losing. </p><p>“It’s all just too much.” She said, closing her eyes and silently wondering, what had they done for things to have turned out this bad? “The Grimm, the crater, Nora, Penny ... How do we fix all that?” As she spoke Ruby looked at each of her companions, her silver eyes begging for answers none of them possessed. A sneeze from Klein caught her attention, his eyes flashing blue as he rubbed at his nose.</p><p>“One step at a time, my dear.” He said, his voice rising in pitch as he tried to hold back another sneeze. He sneezed once again which turned into a slight cough as he cleared his throat and his eyes turned brown. “You can’t worry about fixing everything.” He continued in a deeper voice. “Simply focus on what’s in front of you.” He looked at each of the youths as he spoke. “If you’d like someplace to start, I’d be able to work faster if you could bring the power back on.”</p><p>“How would we…?” Began Ruby, not having the slightest idea how they could perform even that relatively simple task.</p><p>“We have a backup generator near the edge of the estate.” An unfamiliar voice spoke over Ruby, causing many to jump in the darkness.</p><p>“Mother!” Exclaimed Whitley as Willow Schnee leaned against the door, a bottle of half drunken alcohol casually held in her hand as she surveyed the visitors with mild intrigue.</p><p>“Weiss, I wish you had warned me you had friends visiting.” She observed, raising a delicate eyebrow as her gaze fell on her daughter. </p><p>“It wasn’t particularly planned.” Sheepishly answered Weiss, raising a hand to the back of her head.</p><p>“Klein, it is good to have you back.”</p><p>“It’s good to be back, madam.” Klein nodded his head at his former employer. </p><p>“As I was saying.” Willow continued, turning her attention back to her children. “The back-up generator at the estate’s edge may be able to bring the power back.”</p><p>“Then that’s where we should start.” Ruby stated, relieved to have some form of plan, even if it were simply short term.</p><p>“I’ll go.” Offered Weiss standing up straighter.</p><p>“Since when do you know anything about electrical circuits?” Whitley commented. </p><p>“And <em>you</em> do?” Weiss rolled her eyes at her younger brother.</p><p>“As a matter of fact, I do.” He smirked at his sister’s disbelieving expression. “My studies didn’t simply halt just because you weren’t here.”</p><p>“Fine, we’ll both go then.” And Weiss nudged her brother playfully.</p><p>“Girl, you are a Faunus, correct?” Willow declared, looking at Blake with an unreadable expression. Blake took a weary step back, her ears flattening, she had almost forgotten that not all the Schnees were as fond of her kind as Weiss. Weiss took a step between her mother and Blake, ready to argue whatever cruel words her mother may have to say but she surprised them by saying. “Please, if I recall, you have almost perfect vision in the dark? Could you go with my children? Weiss is a Huntress and can protect herself but Whitley has had no such training.”</p><p>“Mother!” Whitley exclaimed, feeling his cheeks flush at the manner his mother spoke of him. But Blake stood up straighter and looked Willow in the eye.</p><p>“I’ll make sure they’re both safe.” She promised.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Possession</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“I know we all agreed on saving Oscar,” Yang began, her eyes flashing red as she punched her fists together. “But any idea how we find him?!” As she spoke, the Huntress punched a growling Beowulf in the snout, sending it crashing into another Grimm. The two creatures disintegrated into dark dust upon impact.</p><p>“First thing is to get into that giant Grimm.” Jaune grunted, as he struggled to push back a large Ursa, its glowing, crimson eyes coming precariously close to his face before he ducked, allowing the Grimm’s own weight to impale itself through his sword. The Huntsman coughed as he choked on the rancid dust the creature disintegrated into.</p><p>“Well, there’s one way.” Pointed out Yang, gesturing with her head towards the gigantic whale-like Grimm, her glowing hair swayed against her body with the motion. The Monstra ominously stood some distance away, its dark skin almost translucent, crimson clouds swirled beneath its surface, and danced with supernatural lightning. Its glowing eyes were barely visible in the distance but its teeth gleamed with a menacing hue. The Monstra’s dark mouth, even from where they stood, appeared like an endless pit of darkness, one that sucked in all light and drowned it with evil, corroding it until it was spewed upon the surface once again, contorted into some form of nightmarish Grimm. </p><p>Monstra’s wide open maw was the most obvious way to enter where they assumed Salem’s stronghold was situated and, somewhere within that monster, was Oscar. It would be well guarded, Salem would make sure of that. It was not beyond the witch to present them with such a trap and, like moths to a flame, she’d draw her enemies in and, with a cruel smile, she’d burn them into oblivion. Unfortunately, although the small group knew this, they had not been given enough time to search for another way in, all they could do was play the game Salem had set up for them, one rigged for them to lose before it had even begun.</p><p>“Ren, think you can get us past the stragglers? We don’t have time to deal with them all.” Jaune called, as he watched Ren make a running landing, using his momentum to bring a Lancer, which had become entangled in one of his Stormflower blades, crashing to the ground.</p><p>“Y-yes.” Though Ren hesitated before he answered and tugged at the handle of his weapon, allowing the pistol-blade to be pulled back to its owner. The young man was feeling weary of using his Semblance in the manner he had since childhood. Back on the airship, when he’d looked at the Ace Ops, he had seen something, petals that had been visible to him alone. The colour and intensity of their movement he somehow understood, almost as if some dormant instinct had awoken within him, that allowed him to read the emotions of an individual he focused his attention upon. This evolution of his Semblance had come upon him with no warning and he had little understanding of how to actually utilise it efficiently, it most definitely was of no use against the Grimm and he had little knowledge of how this change had influenced his original ability. In all honesty, so many unknown factors frightened him but he had been given a job, a life to save, and he would not allow his own insecurities to distract him from his goal.</p><p>Silently though, Ren still worried that he no longer <em> could </em> conceal their presence from the Grimm and, the logical side of his whispered for him to tell his companions so, to warn them to come up with another plan. However, another, more weary voice begged to keep his new skill a secret a little while longer, for not many people would be pleased to have their emotions read so easily.</p><p>“Then let’s leave the small fry to Ironwood’s soldiers, Oscar has been with Salem for long enough.” Ordered Yang, as she tossed an Ursa to the side and ran to where Ren was standing.</p><p>Ren exchanged a hesitant look with Jaune but found he could not look the man in the eye, they had barely spoken since their argument and, although Ren still believed they were far from ready to be proficient Huntsman, guilt of what he’d said to his team leader had been slowly eating at him from the inside, muddling his already confused thoughts. But, if Jaune was holding any form of grudge, he hid it well as he placed a heavy hand on his shoulder. Ren closed his eyes as he placed his own hand on Yang’s and stood as still as he could. He allowed his breaths to blow away the Grimm that surrounded them and his heartbeat to drown out the sound of battle. Eventually, all he saw was darkness and all that could be sensed was his own self.</p><p>A calm warmth washed over Yang and Jaune, that steadied their own breathing and warded away their anxieties, allowing them to think more clearly. They watched the Grimm sniff the air around them and yet, although one came simply a hair’s breadth away from Yang, they could not be sensed. Some of the Grimm clawed at the ground, furious at their prey for escaping. As Ren's Tranquility settled, Yang’s eyes shifted back to violet and the glow of her hair began to slowly fade.</p><p>“I won’t be able to hold this for long while walking.” Ren explained, lifting his head to look at the general direction of his companions, his eyes still close. “I’ll have to keep my eyes shut to try to maintain my Semblance...”</p><p>Yang nodded her head in understanding and Jaune increased the pressure of his grip on Ren’s shoulder, reassuringly. “We won’t lead you astray, Ren.”</p><p>Ren smiled softly at the voice. “You rarely do.” </p><p>Without another word, Yang began to lead the group towards the Monstra, tentatively choosing the path along which less Grimm were present. </p><p>It was nerve wracking to walk through the advancing Grimm, to be so close to their faces that the putrid stench of their breath caused her eyes to water. Every muscle in Yang’s body begged her to fight, to defend herself against these monsters. It was only due to Ren’s Semblance that she was able to push such urges away but, it was also unsettling how well it influenced her own emotions. Yang had always been called a ‘hot head’ and often allowed her emotions to run wild, so to have them almost completely disappear was, understandably, quite concerning. </p><p>It had always somewhat nagged at the back of her mind, even as they had traveled together to Atlas, and recent events had simply brought them to the surface. Yang had never been quite capable of understanding Ren- most days he was calm, silent and efficient, not one to speak when not necessary, completely the opposite of the girl he spent most of his time beside. However, on rare occasions, it felt like he would explode, as he had done in the tundra to Jaune and herself or as he had with Winter and the other Ace Ops. Jaune had appeared equally as confused with that outburst and it had caused her to question how much she actually knew about the man. People had openly compared her to an explosion but Ren was the real bomb, ticking away in silence until he exploded with a devastating and all engulfing blast. </p><p>With Yang’s eye on the looming Grimm before her and her feet coming to a stop she wondered to herself, how much did she actually know about Lie Ren?</p><p>“We are here, Ren.” Jaune explained for the man’s benefit, as the trio came to a hesitant stop. Careful not to lose his focus, Ren opened his eyes to see the towering wall of dark Grimm flesh that stood before them. Yang had led them towards the back of the mouth, near Atlas’s edge and where the dark viscous liquid that salivated out of the monster’s mouth was the most distant. Very few Grimm had wandered towards the edge, too attracted by the surplus of fear and negativity that was oozing out of Atlas, that promised the Grimm a blood soaked feast. Ren watched, both repulsed and captivated, as, from the dark, viscous liquid, a pair of King Taijitu slithered out of the fluid, sliding across the earth to join their brethren on their journey to Atlas.</p><p>“Only way is up.” Jaune sighed as, with a swift swing, Ren tossed one of his Stormflowers at the wall, piercing through the Grimm’s surface just below a glistening white tooth. The small group paused for a moment and waited to see if the Monstra would respond however, all it did was swish its large tail sluggishly. Ren repeated the same procedure with his second blade, allowing their ropes to dangle before the group in the frigid air.</p><p>As they climbed, the trio kept their attention on the skies above and on the ground below. Thus far, fortune seemed to have been in their favour and, wearily, they would have agreed that reaching the mouth of Monstra had been alittle <em>too</em> easy. They would have been right to say so.</p><p>Yang helped Jaune up onto the monster’s gums, the two barely fitting in the gaps between the creature’s teeth as Ren, carefully, dislodged his weapons but opted to keep them in his hands, unsure when their next adversary may strike. </p><p>The inside of Monstra’s mouth was as dark and all consuming as it had appeared from the outside. Weak tendrils of light seeped in from the gap between the monster's jaws, illuminating the dark abyss that spanned before them. </p><p>“It's more of that dark liquid we saw outside.” Jaune observed in a low voice, using the tooth as support as he leaned slightly over the edge, the dark fluid bubbled, each exploding vesicle releasing with it a putrid stench and a dark, soot-like substance.</p><p>“The same thing that’s making the Grimm.” Agreed Yang, as her eyes followed the liquid’s flow out of the creature’s mouth. The stagnant air was almost overpowering, the smell of decay and rot mixing into a sickly sweet concoction.</p><p>“We should try to avoid falling in.” Jaune added, “We’ve no idea how deep it is or what effect that could have on us.”</p><p>“Don’t need to tell me twice.” Agreed Yang, her eyes turned away from the light at the mouth’s opening to the dark, even less inviting insides of the Grimm. Very carefully, moving one foot at a time and holding on to the monstrous teeth as well as they could, they walked along the narrow ridge that made up the inside of the Grimm’s gums, allowing it to act as a natural path to the back of the Monstra’s mouth. Jaune led the way, followed by Yang, while Ren took up the rear, each Huntsman and Huntress keeping vigilant watch for any signs of hostility. </p><p>Jaune extended a hand in silence and indicated for his companions to stop. Yang raised her gauntlets before her, ready to defend herself in case of an attack. </p><p>“I think I saw something moving.” Jaune whispered, unsheathing his sword and standing behind his shield. Jaune’s eyes continued to carefully scan the dark abyss, certain he had seen something briefly dash across its surface- the sinister red gleam of a Grimm. </p><p>They stood there a few more moments but Jaune eventually sighed and lowered his weapons. “It must have been a trick of the... AGGGH!” A scream escaped Jaune as something whipped out of the dark sea and wrapped itself around his ankle, causing him to lose his footing and slip into the dark liquid below. Jaune crashed with a thunderous splash, his weapons the first to disappear under the dark surface as he lost his grip upon them.</p><p>“Jaune!” Yang cried, reaching out towards him but he had also vanished below the surface before she could even react. A second later, the liquid’s surface was broken as Jaune’s body came crashing out, his gloved hand reaching out and grasping Yang’s.</p><p>“Jaune!” She called. Ren gripped her other hand as the two struggled to pull the Huntsman out of the water. Jaune’s head was drooped forward, the dark liquid thickly dripped from his body. Jaune’s grip on Yang’s hand tightened, and continued to do so until it was almost painful. With a great heave he pulled at her arm, pulling Yang towards him and the fluid below. </p><p>“Jaune what are you doing?!” Yelled Ren, using the blade of his Stormflower to hold on to the tooth as he struggled to pull Yang back towards him. Finally, Jaune raised his head and let out a feral, inhuman screech. </p><p>He could not have been under the water for more than a second but the man they had pulled out was not Jaune Arc. Although he had the same face, dark violet veins crossed it, his usually light blue eyes had turned a deep crimson red and his hair had become so pale it was almost white. </p><p>“It must have been a trick of the…” Jaune hissed, wide eyed, as he continued to pull on Yang as she struggled against his hold, this strength... it was not Jaune’s. “It must have been a trick of the…”</p><p>Jaune then let out another ear splitting scream as a grizzly, dark red cloud emerged from his open mouth. </p><p>“What the hell!?” Yelled Yang, as the menacing smoke surrounded her, her eyes widened in horror as it entered her mouth and caused her to gag and choke. Ren tried to pull Yang away from Jaune however, the latter suddenly loosened his grip and caused both Yang and Ren to fall back onto the ledge.</p><p>“Yang, are you okay?” Ren panted, trying to sit up. He could see Jaune below, the dark liquid almost reaching his knees as he groaned, his hand caressing his temple.</p><p>“What just happened…” He groggily asked, looking up at Ren whose eyes widened. Jaune… was back to normal? He looked at him with very normal, very human eyes. The dark veins that had crossed his face had also vanished and his hair had returned to its normal colour. </p><p>Wearily and already trying to get to his feet, Ren’s eyes fell upon where Yang was sitting on her hands and knees. He watched, horrified, as her long hair slowly paled. </p><p>“What the hell!?” She said, her head twitching slightly as she spoke. “What the hell!?” She shrieked, looking up at Ren with blood red eyes and dark webs across her face. Ren jumped back as Yang reached out to grab his ankle. He aimed his pistol at the creature but faltered, this was no Grimm… this was Yang! Something must have been possessing her, the same thing that must have been controlling Jaune! He could not fight it without hurting Yang. </p><p>“What the hell!” Yang hissed, before opening her mouth wide and releasing a blood curdling scream. The smoke emerged as it had done with Jaune and as it did so, Ren futilely tried to shoot at the cloud, but, with mocking ease, it shifted around the bullets as they harmlessly bounced off the back of a tooth. In a serpentine-like motion, it zoomed towards Ren, who struggled to cover his ears and nose to the best of his ability, as the dark haze surrounded him, choking his vision and all his other senses. </p><p>Yang gagged on the unpleasant aftertaste of the creature that had just left her body, feeling drowsy and uneasy. She watched, shocked, as Ren’s arms lowered from his ears, the smoke vanishing as his long, dark hair shifted to white. With slow, meticulous movements, he raised his head, revealing a face covered in purple scars and deep, red eyes. </p><p>“Yang, are you okay?” He hissed, one shoulder twitching unnecessarily. “Yang, are you okay?” Groggily, fighting the urge to vomit, Yang struggled to her feet, her eyes never leaving Ren’s. But, unlike the other times, when the creature had attempted to attack them, with Ren it released an inhuman screech which allowed the smoke to escape his body without resistance. Yang stepped towards the Huntsman to stop him falling forward, as he groaned in discomfort, his head ringing. </p><p>“Where did it go?!” Jaune yelled, his eyes darting between his companions and the darkness, the effects of the possession had left him with a noxious feeling of unease. </p><p>“Were we just attacked?” Moaned Ren, still rubbing his head but steadying himself enough to be able to stand without Yang’s help. </p><p>“I felt it... knocking inside my head.” Yang shuddered at the memory. “But other than making me feel very uncomfortable, I don’t think I’m hurt?”</p><p>“We should still be careful.” Jaune added, struggling to walk through the dark fluid to where his friends stood on the ledge above him, carefully toeing the ground in search of his weapons. “It might have poisoned us, the side effects may take time to show.”</p><p>“Great! How are we meant to fight Grimm poison?!” Complained Yang, tossing her arms up in frustration, she liked it when she could actually see <em> and </em> hit her enemy.</p><p>Jaune opened his mouth to answer but his words died on his lips as a haunting voice wafted through the cavern. </p><p>
  <em>“Hello again, my friends…”</em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hi! Thanks so so much for reading and I hope you liked the chapter! Feel free to drop a comment and I'll try update as soon as I can :D</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Fear</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Schnee manor had never been a home brimming with life, silence had long set in and, as the children had continued to grow up and apart, it had become a permanent resident. However, that evening the silence that had filled the mansion and that had spread across its vast grounds carried upon it an unusual weight, the weight of anticipation, of dread, of an era coming to an end. There was a static in the air that seemed to warn of something’s approach, something dark and menacing and that wished to destroy the silence that had settled comfortably over the estate. </p><p>Weiss led Blake and Whitley across the once beautifully kept garden. Growing up, she had always been fond of it, especially the gazebo that had been erected over a small pond. It had always been a sort of sanctuary to her, a place she could escape to when the four walls of her room had felt a little too small. She would enjoy the warmth of the sun as she sat within the gazebo, some book or other upon her lap, as she dreamt of what could await her past the estate walls. </p><p>However, the gardens seemed to have changed since the last time she had strolled through its paths. The lawn seemed to be bursting from its edges, the ivy clawed at their feet as if urging them to stop and turn back, to return to the safety of the manor. The dry remnants of rose buds clung to the last traces of life, their once vibrant colours faded, the moonlight producing eerie, skull-like shadows across their petals. </p><p>“When father got arrested, much of the house stuff was let go, including the gardeners.” Whitley solemnly explained, as he followed behind his sister as she momentarily stopped to gaze upon a once extravagant fountain, a thin layer of snow obscured its beauty and the little water that remained was now nothing but a thin layer of ice. </p><p>Blake rubbed her arms as she followed the Schnee siblings through the desolate garden, her ears drooping at the disarray, the chill of the night seeped through her clothing, filling her with an ominous dread. The group halted outside a small hut-like building made of the same white stone as the main house. Weiss tugged at the door, it rattled under the sudden force but refused to budge.</p><p>“I don’t think you remembered to get the key, did you?” She sighed as she looked up at her brother, who had his hands crossed over his chest. His raised eyebrow was the only response she needed as Weiss released a calming breath and unsheathed her sword. She pointed it at the lock, taking a step back, she pulled the trigger of her sword and released a small cylinder of Dust which ignited upon coming in contact with the air. When the small cloud of smoke faded, the lock was hanging uselessly to the side, swinging in the leftover momentum of the blast. </p><p>Weiss sheathed her sword as Whitley walked past her, tossing what was left of the lock to the ground and pulling the door open. The hut actually worked with a dual function, apart from housing the back-up generator, it also served as a tool shed where the gardeners used to store their equipment. Buckets and wheelbarrows were neatly sat to the side, a fine layer of dust had already settled upon their surface. The smell of fertiliser filled the first room and a number of spiderwebs that hung from the roof corners bounced with the sudden influx of wind and caused their occupants to scurry to more sheltered heights. </p><p>Whitley flicked the small switch beside the entrance door, looking up at the small light that dangled at the center but sighed when the darkness remained, he had hoped that, maybe, the power may have returned without their intervention. The youth strode to the door that stood across the entrance, it opened to an equally small room, the main part taken up by a rather old looking machine. Most likely the generator had been installed in their grandfather’s time and had never been replaced. It would be a miracle if it still worked at all. </p><p>“Do you think you can get that thing to work?” Weiss asked, watching from the door as her brother inspected the machine in the light of his Scroll.</p><p>“It's a little more of an antique than I would have liked.” He admitted, looking back at his sister. “But I’ll see what I can do, I’d like to change out of these filthy clothes as soon as humanly possible.”</p><p>Weiss rolled her eyes at her brother’s comment. “Can I do anything to help?”</p><p>“Just don’t hover.” He replied, slowly rolling up his sleeves as he began to study the underside of the mechanism.</p><p>“Fine.” Retorted Weiss, turning her attention back to the gardening equipment. A table basked in the moonlight that streamed through a small window, illuminating the mundane objects of a normal life, pots and spades and packets of seeds. She picked up the topmost packet, it was, as yet, unopened and she scanned the beautiful white flower on its front. It was an Edelweiss, the flower her mother used to claim she was named after, they always planted them around this time, so they’d bloom by her birthday. </p><p>Weiss sighed, clutching the packet in her hand, her eyes looked out at the red tinged sky outside, such things were trivialities now, memories of a life she could not, and would not, return to.  Through the window she could just make out the silhouette of the rest of Atlas and, another solemn figure that was viewing the same landscape. </p><p>“It’s not much, but the hut is a little warmer.” Weiss told Blake, as she walked up to her teammate. </p><p>“How long do you think we have?” Blake whispered, her eyes never leaving the distant city below them. They were too far to see details but, with her nocturnal vision she could still make out the outlines of the buildings, some still stood but many had already been destroyed. Weiss could see the fires that had erupted through the streets of Atlas, slowly indicating the progress of Salem’s creatures. Hordes of flying Grimm swooped through the skies, diving at airships that flickered with the rapid fire of blaster shots. Past that, even further in the distance, was the source of all this loss and destruction, the titanic Grimm, Monstra, its unnatural glow an unwelcome source of light.</p><p>“For what?” Weiss sighed, it felt like they had been juggling half a dozen different deadlines they didn’t even know they had been given and, she feared, the first was ticking dangerously close. </p><p>“The Grimm.” Blake’s ears drooped sadly, finally looking at Weiss, her golden eyes gleamed in the faint light of the shattered moon. </p><p>“We may still have some time.” Admitted Weiss, solemnly. “Eight frightened people is nothing compared to a whole city.”</p><p>“You’re… frightened?” Blake tilted her head slightly as she spoke.</p><p>“Of course!” Weiss answered without hesitation. “I’m scared someone else may get hurt- maybe mum? or you? or my obnoxious brother…? I’m scared that, when the Grimm arrive, we may not be enough to fend them off.”</p><p>“I’m glad.” Blake sheepishly smiled. “I thought I was the only one.”</p><p>Weiss placed a comforting hand around Blake’s shoulders and gave her a soft smile. “The rest of us just hide it better, we don’t have a pair of cat ears to give us away.”</p><p>Blake allowed the comment to slide, smiling sadly as she looked back at the collapsing city. “Do you think Yang is safe?”</p><p>“Knowing Yang? She’s probably in the center of the fray, hitting the Grimm where it <em> really </em> hurts.” Weiss responded, wondering where in Mantle their other companions were. “And Jaune is probably coming up with a scheme crazy enough to actually work.”</p><p>“You’re worried for him?” Blake observed, raising a curious eyebrow at her friend. </p><p>“Don’t get me wrong, it's nothing like <em> that </em>, but he’s grown on me.” Weiss shrugged. “What about Ren and Oscar?”</p><p>“We’ll worry for them until Nora gets well enough to do so for herself.” Laughed Blake, her ears perking up as she heard a revving sound erupt from the hut. The front room flickered into life, the light it emitted almost blinding after the darkness she had become accustomed too. </p><p>“It seems Whitley really <em> has </em> been busy while I was away.” Laughed Weiss, lowering her hand and turning to look at the manor, a number of the windows were now aglow and, in the one she knew was of her bedroom, she could just make out the silhouette of a young Huntress. Weiss was about to call to her brother when a thundering crash erupted from inside the shed, and with it, the light was snuffed out once again. </p><p>“Whitley!” Weiss called, running into the building, Blake close behind, her blades already bared, a cold, unfamiliar chill had caused the hair at the back of her neck to stand on end. </p><p>“Whitley!” Weiss yelled with increasing panic when he didn’t reply. </p><p>The pair stumbled to a halt at the entrance to the generator room, unable to comprehend what they were seeing.  One of the walls had been completely destroyed, crushing the generator under the weight of the debris and, basking in the light of the moon, where the culprits, two very unexpected and unwelcome guests. Cinder Fall, her single eye surrounded by golden flame, was sitting upon the back of a large, canine-like Grimm they had never seen before. Large spikes lined its back and joints, its crimson eyes bled through the darkness. Pinned under one of its massive claws, to Weiss’s horror, was Whitley, unmoving, his eyes staring up at his assailants, unfocused and distant. </p><p>“You stupid mongrel!” Cinder was yelling as she tugged at one of the Grimm’s horns. “We are looking for the Maiden, not some random boy!” </p><p>The creature growled up at its rider, sniffing at Whitley’s body, moving just enough of its claw to reveal the green stain that had dried across his chest. </p><p>“Whitley!” Weiss shrieked, unsheathing her sword and aiming it at Cinder. “Get away from my brother!”</p><p>Cinder perked up, finally noticing the two Huntresses that had run into the room, armed and ready for battle. </p><p>“Oh? Maybe you didn’t get us <em> that </em> lost.” Cinder observed, her voice returning to its usual calm and endearing tone as she leaned forward slightly, inspecting the two women. “If the cat and princess are here, Ruby must not be far and, with her, we’ll likely find the Maiden.”</p><p>“Get off my brother.” Weiss growled even more loudly. </p><p>“Oh! Is this boy your brother? I’m sorry.” She mocked. “We were looking for the Winter Maiden. By the way, how’s the hole through your chest? Did it leave a lovely little scar? Maybe I'll give your brother one to match?”</p><p>“Don’t you even…” But Blake raised a hand to Weiss's shoulder and shook her head, urging her teammate not to take the bait.</p><p>“Hound?” Cinder said, carefully sliding down the side of the Grimm’s neck, making sure to stay clear of the ragged spikes that erupted across its body. “Go find the Maiden and Ruby, I’ll deal with these two personally.”</p><p>The creature gave a low, disapproving look. </p><p>“Don’t worry.” Cinder reassured the creature, placing a delicate hand on the side of its neck and, with the other she conjured small tongues of flame that hovered above each of her fingers. “I won’t be too long, now that I know Ruby’s here, I can't possibly meet her empty handed.” As she spoke, the woman lowered her hand from the Grimm, a manic glow in her eye. </p><p>The Hound growled once again before lifting its claw from the boy's chest and swiping him to the side as if he were nothing but an unwanted rag-doll. Whitley released a pained sob as he collided with the destroyed remains of the generator, coughing as he crumpled to the ground. With a slow whip of its tail, the Hound turned its back on Cinder and leaped out of the destroyed building, unfurling its scarlet wings as it charged at the general direction of the mansion. </p><p>“Whitley!” Weiss shrieked, gritting her teeth as she watched her brother struggle to regain his breath. </p><p>“Oh, you won’t have time to worry about him.” Cinder hissed with a sinister grin as the tongues of flames swirled to the center of her palm. “You better worry about yourselves, children.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hi! So really hope you enjoyed the new chapter and thanks so so much for reading! I'm going to continue to try and update twice a week so stay tuned for the next chapter! Feel free to drop a comment (I always love to hear from you guys) and thanks again for reading :D</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Ghosts</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hi! So I changed the fic title from 'The Final Maiden' to 'The Maiden' as I was thinking of splitting the story into three parts and the whole series will be called 'The Final Maiden'. I'm sorry for the confusion and enjoy the chapter :)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A cold, icy chill ran down Jaune's spine. This voice… he knew this voice but, it was impossible… she had been killed almost three years ago and yet… this voice… Jaune would never forget this voice, even if it were simply a whisper in the wind, he’d always recognise it to be hers…</p><p>But it was impossible, she could not be here. It had to be a trick, right? For the first few months after her passing he’d often imagined he'd heard her calling him, seen her standing in the corner of his eye, just out of sight. Maybe this was the side-effect of the Grimm’s toxin? Maybe it played with one’s mind until it was twisted with insanity? Taking a shaky breath, Jaune turned towards his companions, Yang and Ren were still standing on the Grimm’s jaw, their eyes wide, looking as deep into the darkness as they dared.  </p><p>“Did you guys….” Jaune’s voice trailed off, his mouth dry, unable to utter the impossible words.</p><p>Yang, very slowly, nodded her head, “I think so…”</p><p>“But that couldn't have been…” Ren’s voice faltered, his eyes very carefully scanning the darkness from which the voice had come. </p><p>“The Grimm.” Yang stated, standing up straighter and activating her gauntlets. “It must be that thing’s doing.”</p><p>“But why?” Jaune whispered, carefully toeing the liquid’s bottom in search of his shield and sword. He felt the hilt of his sword as a sharp jab against his shoe and, dreading the feel of the liquid against his skin, he carefully bent down and retrieved his lost weapons. He shook them in disgust, allowing the thick, viscous liquid to slide off across their surfaces, tarnishing the gleam he’d been so proud of. Jaune firmly gripped his sword in one hand and strapped his shield to his other, he would not be losing them as carelessly again. </p><p>“It’s Salem.” Ren said and, that alone, was all the explanation they needed.</p><p>“Jaune? Ren?” The voice called from the darkness once again, chilling them all to the bone, it sounded <em> just </em> like her... </p><p>“Are we really going to follow that thing?” Yang whispered.</p><p>“I don’t think we have a choice.” Sighed Jaune, “it's the only way to get deeper into the Grimm and find Oscar.” </p><p>“Then after the voice we go.” Yang muttered, reluctantly jumping into the dark fluid. She shuddered as she felt its warm touch seep through her pant legs, it felt like she was walking through thick syrup, and not the golden type you put on pancakes. Ren jumped in after her, gripping a Stormflower in each hand, his finger carefully hovered over the trigger, he would not allow that Grimm to get the jump on them again. Once all three were knee deep in the dark liquid, Jaune nodded his head at his companions before, once again, leading them in silence, deeper into the darkness. The air became thicker and more sulphurous the further in they traveled, richer in the dark dust until it obscured even the light behind them. </p><p>“Don’t get lost guys.” Yang warned, struggling to see Jaune who was standing a few steps before her. </p><p>“I think it’s a little late for that.” Jaune muttered, turning round in the direction he assumed they had come from however, there was no way of telling if he were right, for all he saw, in all directions, was darkness.</p><p>“Jaune!” The voice suddenly yelled, almost shrieking in fear. “Help me!”</p><p>Jaune quickened his pace slightly, each nerve taut as he instinctively ran towards the frightened voice of his friend. It took all his willpower to stop after taking barely a handful of steps. </p><p>“It’s not her, Jaune.” He mumbled to himself, shaking his head. “It's just a trick.” Then, in a louder voice, he asked, “How much deeper do you think we have to go before we actually find something?” Jaune paused, waiting for one of his companions to answer but none did. With a sickening feeling of dread, he very carefully turned where he stood, to find only darkness greeting him. Ren and Yang were nowhere to be found. </p><p>But that wasn’t possible… he had only taken a few steps away, even if they could not see him they still, at least, would be able to hear him.</p><p>“Ren! Yang!” He called, cupping his hand over his mouth as he spoke, amplifying the echoes that answered him. “Guys!” </p><p>“Jaune!” Shrieked the woman’s voice that had lured them into the darkness, her pain and sadness almost palpable. “Help me, Jaune!”</p><p>“Stop doing that!” He hollered back, anger welling up inside him, laced with a sadness that had never healed.</p><p>“Please Jaune…” The voice whimpered, hurt and frightened and so horribly real.</p><p>“No! You aren’t real!” Jaune swung his sword and shield through the suffocating air, aiming for an enemy he could not see.”You aren’t real!”</p><p>“Jaune…” She said softly, with the same sad kindness he’d heard only from her.</p><p>“Stop it!” Jaune choked, feeling his throat constrict as he tried to cover his ears, to block out the Grimm’s haunting voice. “Stop using her voice! You are not her!”</p><p>The voice’s whispered calls instantly vanished leaving behind an eerie and dark silence. Jaune stood like that for what felt like hours, hoping against hope, that maybe the voice had vanished to haunt some other unfortunate soul.</p><p>“Jaune?” He jumped at the sudden whisper that broke the deafening silence, somehow so much louder than before… so much closer. “Could you look at me?”</p><p>The Huntsman struggled against the voice’s pull- this was a trick, a ploy of Salem’s to stop them reaching her and rescuing Oscar in time. She’d have them wonder the darkness until General Ironwood destroyed them all with their devastating explosives. And yet... his body continued to move, to see the woman that had called him.</p><p>“Pyrrha.” He whispered her name like some enchantment, all caution vanishing as he looked into the beautiful emerald green eyes of his lost friend. She stood before him, a vibrant gem against the all engulfing night. She was smiling at him in the same, genuine way she used to back at the academy, that made her face shine brighter than the golden armour she donned. Her long, scarlet hair swayed along her hips, her hands nervously folded across her stomach, much as she used to do.</p><p>“Jaune!” The woman beamed, taking a step towards him. “I’m so happy to see you again!”</p><p>“Stay back!” Jaune yelled, brandishing his shield and sword before him, taking a step away. “You are not Pyrrha, y-your a Grimm!” But no amount of courage or anger could hide the stammer in his voice, never, not even in his most vivid of dreams, had he ever seen her so real that, if he dared to reach out, he’d feel her soft skin against his touch, the warmth of life still coursing through her veins.</p><p>But the woman did not seem phased by the man’s unwelcome reaction. With a delicate finger, she caressed the surface of his shield, tracing its golden design in mild intrigue. “This… is from my armour.” She observed softly, her voice filled with such affection it broke his heart.</p><p>“Stop it!” He yelled again, his anger flaring.</p><p>“Stop what, Jaune?” The woman asked, placing her hand on his shield.</p><p>“Stop looking like Pyrrha!” The man yelled again.</p><p>“But Jaune, I am Pyrrha.” She answered, tilting her head in confusion as if she wondered if he’d somehow hit his head on the way to her.</p><p>“No, you can’t be! Ruby saw you die.” Jaune spat out through gritted teeth.</p><p>“Poor Ruby.” She sighed, shaking her head sadly. “That must have been horrible, one of Cinder’s crueler jokes. I was not killed but captured and have been imprisoned all this time. I finally had my chance to escape while Salem was busy attacking Atlas.”</p><p>“That can’t be.” Jaune insisted, though his shield lowered slightly, to better look at the woman. “We found your armour…”</p><p>Pyrrha gave Jaune a sad smile. “I’m sorry, it must have been hard on you…”</p><p>“It was… for all of us.” The Huntsman admitted, finally lowering his shield to look at her fully.</p><p>“Then let’s get out of here.” Pyrrha declared, sparing him a soft smile and began to walk away.</p><p>“W-wait!” Jaune called reaching toward Pyrrha, but his hand fell short, the woman just out of his reach but she still turned to him, confused. “Ren and Yang are also somewhere around here, and we can’t leave before we find Oscar!”</p><p>“Oscar?” Pyrra echoed.</p><p>“He’s a friend and Salem’s got him and we need to go save him.” Jaune explained.</p><p>Pyrrha paused, deep in thought. “A young boy? Brown hair and freckles?”</p><p>“You know where he is!?” Jaune blurted out as Pyrrha nodded her head in response.</p><p>“He’s Salem’s new prisoner.” Pyrrha solemnly explained. </p><p>“Can you take me to him?” </p><p>Pyrrha sighed at his request. “I'd much rather not return to the prison I just escaped from but, if he’s a friend…”</p><p>Jaune smiled at Pyrrha and she smiled back and, without another word, she began to lead the way, deeper into the darkness.</p><p>Jaune took a single step towards her before he heard a battle cry erupt from the darkness. A flaming yellow light filled his vision, blinding him as it collided with Pyrrha. </p><p>“Pyrrha!” He frantically called, raising his shield over his face to block out the glare. When he finally felt it fade, he tentatively peeked over the edge of his shield. Yang was standing where Pyrrha had been only seconds before, her body heaving, her eyes still red as the glow of her hair slowly began to fade, at her feet was Pyrrha’s unmoving body, slowly turning into crimson smoke that dissolved with a low hiss, into the liquid below. </p><p>Yang took a deep breath, closing her eyes as she did so. When she looked back at Jaune they had returned to their normal colour.</p><p>“You knew that wasn’t really Pyrrha, didn’t you?” Yang observed sadly, walking up to the man, concern and understanding etched into her face. </p><p>“Yeah...” Jaune sighed, watching as the last of the apparition vanished. “But it was still nice talking to her again…”</p><p>His voice choked slightly on his final words, Pyrrha’s loss feeling fresh in his heart once again. Yang pulled him into a comforting embrace, unable to imagine how it must have felt to see the one you care about but simply as a product of the enemy’s trick. </p><p>“D-did you also see.. erm... <em> her </em>?” Jaune awkwardly asked, as Yang eventually released him.</p><p>“No.” Yang explained, shaking her head. “Adam Taurus was waiting for me.” Her tone warned Jaune not to ask for any more information about that but his appearance must have shaken Yang almost as much as Pyrrha’s appearance had him.</p><p>“And Ren?” Jaune asked, concerned for the teammate he could not see.</p><p>“We got separated the same time we lost you.” Sighed Yang, “but Ren is tough and, if you give these things a good hit, they turn to smoke.”</p><p>“I don’t think I would have been able to attack that…” Jaune admitted in a low voice, his eyes drifting to where the apparition had vanished.</p><p>“I know.” Yan answered in an understanding tone. “That’s why I did it for you.”</p><p>“What do you think their plan was?” Jaune cleared his throat, his eyes scanning the darkness searching for any sign of Ren.</p><p>“Most likely to get us lost deeper in this darkness.” Yang explained, “And also to distract us from <em> that </em>.”</p><p>And, with an extravagant gesture, she pointed to the area behind Jaune. The Huntsman, confused as to what could possibly be behind him other than more darkness, turned to see a faint, golden glow.</p><p>“How could I have missed that?!” Jaune wondered aloud, subconsciously taking a step towards it.</p><p>“I think, as long as we focused on those things, we weren’t able to see it.” But Yang shrugged, she was only guessing at this point but she’d only noticed the light when she’d beaten the apparition of Adam that had confronted her. “So I take it that it must be the way to Salem’s place.”</p><p>“But what about Ren?” Jaune faltered, looking around once again, he did not wish to leave his friend alone in this darkness, and to these cruel apparitions.</p><p>“You know Ren better than me.” Yang admitted, placing a hand on his shoulder, the pressure reassuring him slightly. “ Should we continue to look for him?”</p><p>Jaune mulled over her words. “I want to keep looking for him.” Jaune carefully began, “But, if he were here, he wouldn’t want us to lose our only chance of escape searching for him.”</p><p>Yang nodded her head in agreement. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he found out about that light first and headed there looking for<em> us </em>.”</p><p>“Yeah, you're right.” Jaune hesitantly agreed, still looking through the darkness for his teammate, dread churning in his stomach at the possibility that Ren needed them, had he lost himself in this darkness and its ghosts?</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hi! So another chapter done and dusted- I hope you guys enjoyed it even if it were just a lot of talking this time :3 Thanks so very much for reading and feel free to drop me a review, I love to hear from you guys (the good, the bad, the random) and try update on Friday. Thanks again for reading :D</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Huntsman</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>
    <span>I-I’m sorry.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Penny’s final words continued to echo through Ruby’s mind as she paced besides the low, makeshift bed they had erected for the android. Ruby could not fathom for what Penny could possibly be sorry for. She had successfully gotten Amity Colosseum into the air and their message had been broadcast to all the kingdoms. Unfortunately, in the hours since then help from the neighbouring kingdoms was still nowhere to be seen but Ruby had to rely on hope alone, for that was all she had left in that regard.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>So that begged the question, and a dozen other questions after that, for what had Penny been apologising for? And, another important question, what could have happened at Amity Colosseum for her to have crash landed on Schnee grounds in such a beaten and damaged state? Had the Ace Ops attacked Penny? Was General Ironwood that desperate to capture them that he wouldn’t even allow them to try and call for aid from the outside? And, if that were the case, what had happened to Pietro and Maria? Had they been captured? Had they also gotten hurt?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ruby shook her head in frustration, with every question she asked, another two popped up and pulled her deeper into the rabbit hole that had become her thoughts. She wished they could get a single answer, maybe then the pieces would finally start to fall into place. But, not for the first time, it felt as if they were playing some game whose rules they did not know.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Girl, could you cease with your pacing? It is giving me a headache.” Willow observed, although not rudely, it still caused Ruby to jump as she was dragged out of her thoughts.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry, Mrs Schnee.” Ruby apologised, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly. The woman had been sitting in a chair beside Nora, the glass bottle cradled on her lap as Klein was tentatively applying ointment to the burns before replacing the bandage, doing the best he could with the light of his scroll.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Please, call me Willow.” The woman requested. “My children never bring any friends home, but I think I’d have liked for them to call me Willow.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And I would have enjoyed preparing for their visits, can you imagine the amount of cakes the young madam would have asked me to make?” Klein gave a low chuckle at the thought and Willow allowed a small, reserved smile. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Too much, I assure you.” Willow admitted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe, when this is all over… we could try some of your cakes?” Ruby suggested, awkwardly, she had heard much about Weiss’s family over the years but meeting her mother had been somewhat different from what she had expected. “Weiss spoke about them a-lot back at Beacon.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Willow let out a low, humourless chuckle. “Sadly, after all this, I highly doubt we’ll be in any state to host guests…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But it's something to look forward to, for when this is finally over.” Ruby smiled at Willow and, finally, the woman began to understand, slightly, why her daughter had always spoken so fondly of this young Huntress. “We could even do it at our place, I’m sure dad won’t mind.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, that would be very nice.”  Willow agreed as, with a low buzzing sound, the lights of the room flickered into existence.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They did it!” Jumped Ruby excitedly, walking to the window of Weiss’s room to look out at the gardens below. In their newly acquired light, Ruby could see the shed at the edge of the gardens that were still shrouded in darkness, a little beacon of light towards which she could just make out two familiar forms.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good! It means I can get a better picture of what I’m dealing with with Ms Poladina here.” Klein stated, finishing with the bandage he was carefully wrapping around one of Nora’s palms, the burns gleamed cruelly in the light. Nora, even with both her Aura and Semblance activated, had sustained so much damage... Ruby suspected that, if she had tried what she had, only a husk of a crisp of herself would have remained.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Honestly, Klein, unless one of your personalities is a robot genius, the only person that could help Penny is her dad.” Sighed Ruby, turning fully away from the window to watch the butler as he knelt beside the unconscious girl.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I admit, my patients don’t usually bleed green.” He began, gingerly lifting one of the young girl’s hands. “But I’m a doctor and I will do what I can to help-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But, before he could finish that sentiment, the room was swallowed by darkness once again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Willow sighed. “It couldn’t be</span>
  <em>
    <span> that</span>
  </em>
  <span> easy.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Concerned, Ruby turned back to the window, squinting to try to see through the darkness. The shadows had contorted the gardens, making it difficult to distinguish where the shed was in the moonlight. Out of the corner of her eyes, she momentarily thought she saw movement, but it vanished before she could properly recognise the shape.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s ok, Madam.” Klein reassured Willow, “Young Whitley and Ms Weiss will get it working again in no time.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’s right!” Piped in Ruby, turning to face Willow. “They got it working before, we just need to give it more time.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Call it a mother’s intuition.” Willow answered in a low voice. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ruby’s shoulders slumped at her words, not wishing to prod, they just needed one piece of good news, then things may begin to turn around. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>A crash from the lower floors caused the young Huntress to jump.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“By gosh! That sounded like it came from the dining hall!” Klein exclaimed, his eyes flashing pink.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Could it be Weiss and the others?” Ruby quickly asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No,” Klein darkly replied, his eyes flashing red. “They’ve lived here since they were children, they wouldn’t get lost like that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Burglars?” Willow mused, standing and gripping the neck of her bottle more tightly. “Atlas is under attack and people still find the time to steal.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ruby’s eyes fell on the bedroom door, she could still hear the shattering of glass downstairs and, somehow, the air had become almost unbearably colder. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll go check it out.” She offered, walking to where her scythe was leaning against the wall. “You two stay here. Please, keep Penny and Nora safe.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s a promise.” Klein said, as he watched the young woman walk out of the room.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>As Ruby walked down one of the twin staircases that led to the main entrance, she extended her scythe to its full length, brandishing it before her, allowing its blade to guard her in the poor light of the moon. Although her eyes had adjusted somewhat, her vision was far from what she’d hope it would be before facing some unknown adversary.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As she walked down, each step echoed through the wide space. She carefully tried to scan her surroundings. The sound of glass being destroyed underfoot had halted which meant that the intruders had probably wondered away from where they had broken in and, possibly, into the entryway.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ruby Rose, I’m so pleased I’ve finally found you alone.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ruby jumped as the familiar and unwelcome voice echoed around her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Salem!” She whispered, her grip tightened on her Scythe as she said the cursed name.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alway scurrying with some friend or other… makes it </span>
  <em>
    <span>so</span>
  </em>
  <span> difficult to talk.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve got nothing to say to you.” Ruby called out, stopping on the bottom step, still trying to find the source of the voice.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good, because I have much I'd like to discuss with you.” From a distant corner, in the shadow of one of the pillars, several crimson eyes appeared and, finally, the creature prowled out of the shadows to reveal its full form. The Hound gave a low growl as it walked towards the Huntress, each step silent against the polished marble.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ruby’s eyes widened at the sight of the Grimm and she raised her scythe, taking a step towards it, but Salem’s calm voice stopped her, was it possible it was coming from the Grimm?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I see much potential in you, I wish for you to join me.” The Hound sat on its hindlegs, much like a dog would as it obediently waited for orders. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“J-Join you!?” Ruby echoed in disbelief, her voice rising. “I would never join you!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah, but what if I had something to offer you in exchange?” Salem’s voice leered, causing Ruby to shiver as it washed over her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t want anything from you, except for you to leave Remnant alone.” She answered through gritted teeth.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That, young Huntress, I cannot do, but, I may know something of your mother.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You already told me enough.” Ruby spat, taking an aggravated step towards the Hound. “You killed her!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Now Ruby, did I use those words exactly?” Salem asked, mysteriously.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“W-what?” Ruby whispered, it felt as if her blood was slowly being replaced by ice, the more the witch spoke, the more she dreaded her next words and yet… What was she trying to imply about her mother? Was it possible… was it possible Sumer Rose was alive?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re lying!” Ruby yelled, shaking her head, her eyes flashing slightly at her mother’s mention. She could feel the tears begin to swell, obscuring her already poor vision.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But, young Huntress, have I ever lied to you before?” Salem calmly observed. “Such deceitful acts were always a speciality of Ozma’s, not mine.” Ruby continued to shake her head. She refused to believe Salem, to let her manipulate her but, the tiny, desperate voice of a child inside her whispered, what if it were possible?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Follow my Hound out that door and join me and I’ll give you all the answers.” Salem offered, her voice low yet filled with promise, a promise of finally answering some of the questions Ruby so desperately wished to be answered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No.” The Huntress declared, standing up straighter as she blinked away the tears and looked at the Hound with defiance. “You can keep your secrets, I will never join you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pity.” And, if it were possible, Ruby thought she heard the immortal woman sigh through the Grimm. “But I don’t need you to come to me willingly, Ruby Rose.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As if it had been waiting for such an order, the Grimm suddenly pounced, covering the distance between it and Ruby in one impressive leap. Ruby rolled to the side, dodging the attack as the Hound crashed into the steps, crushing the marble with the force of its attack. The creature growled, jumping after Ruby. She raised her scythe to block the attack but the creature stood on its hind legs, towering over her and, with a broad paw it swatted her to the side. Ruby gasped as she collided with the large armour that stood beside the staircase, landing unevenly on her feet. The Huntress staggered to stand as the monster let out a terrifying howl as it attacked once again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Cornered, Ruby called upon her Semblance to escape. She jumped behind it, ready to slice at the creature’s back but, this Grimm was far more intelligent than any other Ruby had faced before, it arched its back and extended its spikes even further, forcing her to twist out of the way to avoid being impaled. Ruby rolled into a landing, her cloak flying behind her as she crouched on one knee, aimed and shot several bullets at the Grimm. A few of the shots ricocheted off its hard claws and skull-like mask, shattering a few of the decorative vases that stood guard beside one of the doors. A few of the bullets had actually hit their target but they had embedded themselves in the strange flesh of the Hound, leaving very little, if any, damage.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The hound roared in irritation, running at Ruby who tried to outrun the Grimm by using her Semblance, however, to her horror, it seemed as if the creature was learning, growing faster until it could almost match her speed. However, she was no match for its strength. Panting, Ruby stumbled to a stop, weary from overusing her Semblance. She shrieked as the Hound appeared beside her and, with its claws bared, it slashed at her. Her limbs felt like dead weights and she was barely able to keep hold of her scythe as she crashed into the stairs, tumbling up the broken steps. As she finally stopped, sprawled across the marble, she groaned in pain and her Aura flickered from the impact. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Hound prowled along the bottom step, its mouth pulled back in some wicked grin, its teeth bared in anticipation, its prey was finally within its grasp. Ruby struggled to her feet, using her scythe for support, her breath escaped her in ragged, painful bursts. Her head rang, her eyes unfocused as she tried to follow the Grimm’s slow and deliberate movements. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ruby took a weak step forward but was stopped as a sudden hand was placed on her shoulder.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Klein?” Ruby said with uncertainty, as she looked at the butler who was standing beside her, looking intently at the Grimm, his eyes a bright red. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I came to see what all the ruckus was about but It seems an unwelcome guest is causing trouble.” He observed, lowering his hand from Ruby’s shoulder and walking slowly towards the Grimm, that looked at the new arrival with mild interest. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait, Klein! It’s too strong!” Ruby weakly called, reaching out to stop the man but he was already out of her reach and her feet felt too weak to take another step. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Klein stopped before the Grimm which was still grinning its wide toothed smile, opening its mouth slightly to allow a saliva-like substance to drip to the ground, steaming against the cold air. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t worry about me, Ms Rose, I’m not just your average butler,” Klein reassured the Huntress, turning his head slightly so that Ruby could see his eyes. She had expected to see them red, as she noticed they did when he was angry but, instead, they seemed to contain a full spectrum of colours, each one distinguishable and yet perfectly fused with the others.  With a speed neither Ruby nor the Grimm had anticipated from the man, Klein grabbed a spike that protruded from either side of the monster’s face and, with a loud heave, lifted the surprised creature off its feet and tossed it to its side, stunning it momentarily.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I am also a Huntsman.” Klein admitted calmly, his eyes glowing.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hi! Thank you so much for reading, I really hope you enjoyed the chapter! Next update will be on Tuesday and feel free to drop a comment. Thanks again for reading and I'll update soon :D</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Capture</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thanks guys for the lovely comments last time! I’m so happy you all seemed to like my little twist with Klein’s Semblance, considering his personalities are the 7 dwarves from Snow White I was like, wait a minute, there’s a huntsman in that story as well… ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Anyway! Enjoy the chapter :D</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Ren felt nothing. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ren looked upon the face of the father that had been killed during his childhood and he felt nothing. He did not allow himself to feel anything as this man, dressed in the traditional attire of his village, walked towards him. His long dark hair was streaked with grey, his pale, almost golden eyes were creased in the corners. He looked at Ren and yet seemed unable to focus upon his son’s face, for this man could not see him.  He was not Ren’s father, nor a man at all, but a manifestation of a Grimm’s cruel trick. The Huntsman’s Semblance hid him from such creatures but the Grimm continued its eerie charade nonetheless.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>What Ren wished to feel was sadness, at seeing his father more vividly than he ever had in over ten years. In that instant, for the briefest instant, he felt like that child from </span>
  <span>Kuroyuri Village</span>
  
  <span>once again, his father having just returned from a long hunt. He wished to run to him, to embrace him as he once had so very long ago. He wished to hear his voice tell tales of his adventures, to smell the fragments of the forest that would cling to his father long after his return. However, his Semblance, which had come to him, uncalled upon, had shown him the truth. As he had looked upon the man who called him son and praised his growth, he had seen not a single emotion, not a single petal. This was not his father, but a puppet stolen from his memories by a creature of darkness. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>What Ren wanted to feel was anger and fury, at the Grimm that had dared to use his father’s face against him. That a Grimm, the same type of creature that had stolen him away from Ren had taken on his likeness, had tried to sully his memories of his beloved father with lies and deceit.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But emotion was a weakness, if he let it run wild, as it had been doing with him as of late, his Semblance, Tranquility, would be of no use. So that was why, as the Grimm donned his father’s face, and spoke words Ren had wished he’d heard his father say for so long, he felt no emotion. He allowed the calm his Semblance brought him to obscure him from the monster and allow his thoughts to clear.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Lie, you have grown to be such a fine Huntsman.” The man said calmly, walking through the dark mist towards Ren’s general direction. Ren took a steadying breath, Lie- no one ever called him by his first name, not even Nora who had known him since childhood. Since the incident, even back when he had been at Beacon, when they had chosen the name for their team- JNPR, they had chosen the initial R rather than L. It had sometimes felt that Lie had vanished with Kuroyuri Village, and for so very long, he had simply lived carrying the memory of his family, simply as Ren, fighting the creatures that had destroyed them. In many ways that was still the same but, in some ways, that had also changed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ren took a step to the side, the thick liquid shifted silently as he moved through it, the thick mist obscuring the only indication that would have given away his position.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“My boy, you bested the Nuckelavee, you’ve avenged our village’s destruction.” The Grimm continued to say softly, imitating his father's voice perfectly, causing a chill to run down his spine. “I could never have been prouder.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Ren could feel his throat tighten at his words but he forced himself to walk away from the man, towards the distant light where he prayed he would find Jaune and Yang. The Grimm had separated them, drawing on ghosts of the past to lure them away from their objectives, of Oscar and the Lamp and survival.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Lie, why won’t you speak?” The man asked sorrowfully, still speaking to the space the Huntsman had been standing in before. “Are you not pleased to see your father?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You are not my father.” Ren spat, as his Semblance vanished and he allowed the emotions he had so desperately held back to wash over him. He spared the Grimm a single glance backwards as finally, to its outrage, it realised its prey had eluded him. His father's face contorted in anger, its teeth bared to reveal sharp, pointed fangs but, before it could attack, Ren escaped the darkness into a passage the light had guided him to. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was surprisingly well lit, causing Ren to blink multiple times as he ran, hearing the creature’s shrieks behind him become less human but also, far more distant. It seemed that the Grimm was not allowed to leave its post. As carefully as he could Ren walked through the unfamiliar passages, the golden red light providing a false warmth after his confrontation with the Grimm. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ren wished he could call out to his companions but he knew, in doing so, he would attract much unwanted attention. He internally sighed, their scrolls had been confiscated by the Ace Ops, maybe, if they still had them, they might have been able to stay in some form of measly contact. But, it was useless wasting energy on things he knew he did not have and, rather, focused his attention on not getting caught. Ren walked close to the walls, they seemed to be composed of a strange dark orange and black stone he could not recognise and it glowed slightly, emitting enough light for the huntsman to be able to manoeuvre through the corridors without difficulty.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Surprisingly, the passages Ren sneaked through seemed to be deserted. He had hoped to avoid making contact with Salem’s top brass, like Hazel or Tyrion, or the immortal herself, but he had expected more guards, maybe some Grimm prowling the passages? The lack of security did not bode well, one does not leave one's home unguarded if they were not confident in their own capabilities.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>With his weapons firmly gripped in each hand, Ren carefully peeked around the corner of the path he was following, which seemed to be rising in a gradual incline, leading him higher up and, hopefully, closer to where Yang, Jaune or Oscar were. A low clicking sound had been echoing through the passages, unnerving him further. However, as he carefully scanned the path before him, on silent feet, he jumped back, pressing his back against the wall as held his breath and activated his Semblance just as an eerie creature rounded the corner. It appeared to be the source of the peculiar sound- a low, ominous throb in the background. The Grimm swayed over the ground as it hovered past, its long crimson, thread-like tentacles fluctuated behind an orb-like head. It glowed red and was encrusted by a number fragments which, upon careful inspection as the creature passed by, seemed to be made of bone. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It did not seem to sense Ren as it continued on its patrol, though the men pressed himself even more firmly against the wall, barely avoiding coming in contact with a rogue tentacle. Ren remained in that position, weary of the Grimm until it vanished through another side passage and left him in silence. Once again, he carefully looked around the passage and, confirming that he risked no further unwanted confrontations, he continued on his journey. Entering and leaving Salem’s base without her knowledge was the safest scenario for them all. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Although the path continued to climb gently, the passage he followed seemed identical to all the others he had stumbled upon thus far and he had come across not a single door, nor distinguishable feature, that would indicate he was not simply walking around in circles.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Other than the strange Seer Grimm he had encountered earlier, Ren discovered no other guard and, he almost suspected he had fallen into another of Salem’s traps. That was however, until he halted wearily before a large archway. On either side of him a number of other corridors seemed to open up towards the archway. Very carefully, the man took a step under it and found himself in a wide, semicircular room. It seemed to be empty, not a soul or Grimm or even a piece of furniture filled the vast empty space. However, Ren did not allow its innocent appearance to deceive him, never lowering his weapons, as his eyes ran over the gruesome view that greeted him from across the room. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Atlas, consumed by destruction and darkness. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Captivated, he walked across the room and the war on Atlas’s surface became even clearer. He saw General Ironwood’s soldiers slowly retreating, their numbers already far smaller than they had been before they’d entered Monstra. In some places he saw small clusters of soldiers surrounded by Grimm, the creatures savouring their fear before the final strike. The Grimm had advanced substantially as well, having covered the distance between Monstra and the city with merciless speed and, even from this distance, Ren could see that the  city’s walls had begun to crumble. Creatures of every monstrous shape and size were scratching at it, pushing against it with their nightmarish appendages, piercing through it with their deadly tasks, causing the cracks to become deeper and deeper and spread across its surface. Soon the walls would fall and the true collapse of Atlas would begin. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Everything seems rather minuscule, seeing it from here, does it not?” Ren jumped at the voice, turning to face its source, his weapons already pointed at the new arrival, silently cursing his own carelessness. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Salem walked into the chamber with a regal majesty, her long, black dress swept across the ground, her pale hands delicately crossed across her stomach. Although she had addressed Ren, her crimson eyes were focused on the landscape behind him, on the chaos the creatures she had created were creating. Strapped to her side, its beautiful blue centre a sharp contrast to the woman’s dark demeanour, hung the Relic of Knowledge.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Ren adjusted his posture, lowering his centre of gravity as he aimed his pistols at the witch. He could feel the air shift in her presence, her power so great it was almost like electricity, filling him with dread and fear, urging each muscle to run, to escape this creature of death. Ren alone would not be capable of fighting off this immortal being, a fact he was painfully aware of.  Even with Jaune and Yang by his side, their chances would not have improved too significantly. That was the effect the weight of this woman’s presence had. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She paused as her eyes finally fell on Ren, and cruel amusement creased her once beautiful face. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You are one of Ozma’s Huntsmen…” The woman recalled mildly, “A companion of Ruby Rose’s, if memory serves?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ren did not answer, his eyes narrowing at the woman and his silence caused her to laugh a vile, wicked laugh. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Another mute? Good, I've gotten so tired of the insolent manner with which you humans often speak.” Salem paused, her dark eyes taking in every detail of the young man. “Hmmm, maybe this may be a fruitful encounter after all... tell me, boy, do you know how to activate the Relic?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As Salem spoke from the passage behind her, in a flurry of echoing clicks, a Seer Grimm appeared, if it were the same one Ren had encountered previously or a new one, there was no way of knowing but it menacingly hovered by its master’s side, the clicking slowing until it almost echoed the beat of Ren’s own heart.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Silence is a virtue few appreciate.” Salem admitted, when Ren refused to answer her, looking at the men with renewed interest.“But my patience is a gift very few get to enjoy, answer me boy!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Where is Oscar?” Ren countered, his voice low and calm, his eye never leaving Salem’s though, out of the corner of his eye he noticed another pair of Seer Grimm creep into the chamber. Slowly but thoroughly, they were blocking his only escape </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh! So he does speak?!” Salem exclaimed with false surprise. “But see boy, that is not how this game works. I am the one who asks the questions.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I have no answer for you.” Ren declared through gritted teeth. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And yet you expect me to tell you where Ozma is?” Salem mused, raising a delicate finger to the side of her chin in thought. She then let out a slow, deliberate sigh. “You humans are all the same, always taking, and expecting to give nothing In return.” Her tone hardened. ”But I have my own ways of making man talk, methods far less courteous.” And, with a slight flick of her hand, the Grimm that had spread out on either side of her, rose further into the air, their clicking intensifying . They swarmed around Ren, their bone-like crust twisting to the base of their orbed heads, each tentacle rose and clasped one, gripping it firmly until each crimson thread held a pointed, and deadly, shard.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ren jumped back as the first of the Grimm attacked, its spear piercing the ground where he had been standing, leaving a deep crack where it had hit. The rest of the Grimm continued to swarm, surrounding Ren as they tried to block his escape. The huntsman jumped to the side, shooting at the closest Grimm, a deep fissure appeared across the orb from where the bullets had hit. It quivered where it hovered, its tentacles shooting wildly at Ren in retaliation. He  narrowly dodged as he shot at another Grimm. However, this monster dodged and sent a spear at Ren who tried to avoid it once again but, during the other’s attack, another of the Grimm had hovered to the side and gripped his legs, pulling them from under him. It dangled him in the air as another Seer Grimm bought one of its shards threateningly close to his face. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Narrowing his eyes at the creature, Ren sliced at the tendrils that grasped his legs and gripped the tentacle that hovered in front of his face, twisting in the air to land with a run on his feet. He pulled the other Grimm after him and, with his built up momentum, crashed it into another of the creatures that had been trying to block his path. Their two orbs shattered on impact, dissipating into dark dust. Ren slid to a stop, his pistols aimed at another of the Grimm, but as he was about to shoot, another of the creatures crashed into him from the side, sending him tumbling roughly to the ground. His aura flickered from the impact. Ren struggled to his feet as the Seer Grimm began to hover closer, their crystalline orbs looming over him, </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gritting his teeth against the pain, he pushed himself to his knees, his breathing heavy, the shadows of the Grimm fell over him and filled his vision.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Give up boy.” Salem said cooly, observing the battle jadedly, the squirming of insects was of little interest to her. “Spare yourself the unnecessary pain.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No.” He spat, through gritted teeth, though it pained him to speak. He was a Huntsman and he had been given a mission. He had to find Oscar. He had to find Jaune and Yang. They had to escape this place before General Ironwood’s explosives destroyed it all. They all had people waiting for them to return. He had someone waiting for him to return. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Pushing himself to stand, he let out a deep breath, closing his eyes on the Grimm and  feeling their shards deliberately being pointed at his throat, daring him to even move. Like a wave, Tranquility washed over him, slowing his heart beat and calming his breath. When he opened his eyes, the Grimm’s tentacles were still pointed towards him but they had moved no closer. Their positions wavered as they struggled to locate the Huntsman, their clicking became more frantic and they lost formation, frantically searching for the human that had somehow eluded them all. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ren slowly turned his attention to Salem, her eyes had wondered to her confused Grimm as they continued on their frantic search. Her head was tilted in interest at the sight. This was Ren’s only chance, he’d use his Semblance to escape, it may not have been the bravest move but no one would reprimand him from running from Salem. She had not been their goal and they knew that no Huntsman alone would ever be able to defeat her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Careful not to make even the slightest of sounds, Ren began to run across the room, making a beeline to the exit. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, don’t think you can escape me.” Salem suddenly said, she raised her hand and made a gesture as if she were grasping something. Ren released a surprised gasp as he felt a sudden force surround his body, hindering his movement. He struggled against the invisible force, feeling his feet leave the ground as he was slowly turned on the spot, forced to face Salem as she walked up to him, her cold eyes inspecting him with renewed interest. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Quite a convenient Semblance you possess, I assume it hides your presence from my pets?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Y-You could see me?” Gasped Ren, struggling against the woman’s magic, unable to sustain his Semblance as he did so. The Grimm almost instantly stopped their frantic search and came to hover beside their master. They encircled Ren, their tentacles pointed at him once again, his only opportunity of escape, lost. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did you really believe that I was the same as these creatures?” She calmly asked, gesturing with her hand as two of the Grimm hovered closer to Ren and restrained him with their cold, chord-like tentacles. As they did so, he felt Salem’s magic fade from around him, lowering him to the ground but leaving him unable to escape. “I am immortal, boy. I am a god.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her words echoed around them, her dark dress silently shifting with each step she took, her small army of Grimm followed at a respectable distance behind her and pulled at Ren as they led him back into the maze of passages. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ren’s pale pink eyes followed the immortal woman as she led them out of the chamber, a dark silhouette his eyes could not look away from. Ren had almost assumed, from the stories Oscar had told them, that Salem, being the creator of the Grimm, was one of them, that his Tranquility would hide his presence from her as well. However, as he focused on the woman’s back, his eyes widened further having not expected what his Semblance now revealed- a single black petal slowly rotated around Salem. A single, solitary petal, that had hovered around the woman since the dawn of this era. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Salem may have been immortal, possessing power beyond their comprehension but she was no god. Salem, mother of Grimm, was human.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hi! Thank you so so much for reading the chapter! I hope you guys enjoyed it and feel free to drop a comment, I always love to hear what you think (good, bad, meh). Next update should come Friday, and thanks again for reading :D</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Protect</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Ruby could barely believe what had just unfolded before her eyes. Klein, the butler Weiss had always praised for his outstanding cakes, had just managed to tackle Salem's Hound to the ground. The young Huntress blinked at the sight of Klein firmly holding the creature in place, as if he weighed nothing more than Zwei. The Hound must have been equally as surprised for, the only sound it made, was a barely audible whimper.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ms Rose, if you’d do the honour of ending this vile beast, we can return to our patients upstairs.” Klein called over his shoulder. Ruby jumped to her feet, dispelling the daze and fatigue that had begun to wash over her from her battle and prevented her from using her Semblance. All Klein could do was hold the Hound in place, she was the one with the weapon that could destroy the Grimm. Ruby struggled to stand up straight but she ran towards the Huntsman and Grimm, the gleam of  Crescent Rose’s blade promising a swift and efficient end for the Hound. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>However, as the Huntsman and Huntress were becoming painfully aware of, the Hound was capable of learning, of evolving much faster than its predecessors. As it watched the Huntress run towards it, it released a feral growl and struggled against Klein with renewed energy.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hurry!” Yelled the butler, as he struggled to keep the creature down. The Hound released another low, bone shaking growl as the Huntress continued on her swift advance, her scythe raised, ready to finish it off. However, the Grimm jerked upwards, trying to weaken Klein's hold and, from against its bizarrely formed body, it unfurled wings that had not been visible before. It opened them, their crimson glow surprising klein who did not know what to make of the structures in the darkness. The Hound unfurled its wings, raising them with such speed and force that Klein staggered back, swatted away like some irritating fly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No!” Ruby shrieked, slicing with her scythe, they had been so close! But the Hound jumped back, bodging the attack and rose onto its hind legs, towering over the girl as it blocked her weapon, gripping the blade so firmly the metal creaked under the pressure. It picked up the weapon, Ruby still holding onto its handle and tossed her to the side. Ruby collided with Klein who stumbled multiple steps backwards to stop the girl from crashing into the wall.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you.” Ruby barely had the energy to speak as she used her scythe for support.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re too exhausted to fight.” Klein protested, as the girl converted her weapon into its gun form and her silver eyes refused to leave the Grimm as it once again fell onto all four legs, its body lowering close to the ground in preparation for the next attack. “You’ve got to step back, Ms Rose.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No,” Ruby responded through gritted teeth. “They have hurt enough of our friends.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Very well.” Though Klein felt touched that this Huntress he barely knew considered him such and he smiled behind his moustache, Weiss really had surrounded herself with good friends. Without another word, the Hound pounced and the battle commenced.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Calling it exhausting would have been an understatement. While both Ruby and Klein struggled to even land a hit on the creature, the Hound simply dodged and attacked as if this were simply some game played amongst children. Ruby leaned against her scythe, as she felt her Aura wearing thin, each time it shattered and was remade it became progressively weaker until all that was left to protect her was a thin film. Ruby cursed under her breath as she watched Klein struggle to keep up with the Grimm, although she was genuinely impressed by his skill, she knew that he was not an active Huntsman, the toll of battle after so long was weighing heavily on him as well. If only she could use her eyes, use them to bring an end to this monstrosity. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Klein!” She shrieked as watched the Grimm’s claws slice against his chest, causing his Aura to flicker with a rainbow of colours as he was sent crashing into a pillar on the opposite side of her. Thick, deep cracks spread from the impact, webbing across the marble’s surface. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The grimm then turned its attention to the Huntress, its teeth bared in anticipation. Ruby let out a surprised shriek as, just as the Hound took a single step towards her, a glow appeared around the edges of the main doors. They exploded, raining splinters and burning debris over the combatants. Ruby coughed against the sudden dust and smoke that began to fill the air, the flaming wood of the door illuminated the entryway, producing large flickering shadows that greeted the newest intruder.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh good, it seems I haven’t missed the party.” Ruby coughed against the suffocating air, the smoke caused her eyes to water as the cold feeling of unease ran through her body. Blinking away the tears, she looked up to where the door to Schnee Manor had once stood and fresh dread filled her being. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cinder stood in the entryway, hovering slightly off the ground, her single visible eyes burning with the power of the Maiden. Her cape swayed in the destruction and, Ruby’s breath hitched when she saw who had joined them alongside the Fall Maiden. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>In her Grimm, deformed hand, being gripped around her throat was Weiss. Blood smeared the side of her pale face, she clawed at the woman’s grip, her eyes wide as she struggled for breath. In the Maiden’s other hand, Whitley was similarly held, his clothes were torn and dirty, the little of his face that could be seen was scraped and bruised.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I brought you a little gift, Ruby,” Began Cinder, her voice low yet unsettled. “Unfortunately, I had to leave the cat out to dry but I thought you’d like these two.” But then Cinder sighed, as she slowly looked at her two captive. “They’re somewhat broken now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And, with little sympathy for the Schnee siblings, Cinder released them, their bodies falling to the ground with an ominous thump. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Whitley!” Weiss frantically shrieked, crawling to her brother as he choked and coughed, struggling to regain his breath. Weiss, unable to stand, crawled towards him, her legs dragged behind her as she pulled herself towards Whitley, sitting up and cradling his bruised face onto her lap, struggling to protect her brother the only way she could.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Without sparing the two a second glance, Cinder floated into the destroyed room, her eyes surveying the destruction her arrival had created with glee, her eyes finally resting on the silver eyes Huntress. Cinder laughed at the young woman’s reaction, savouring her torment as she watched her friends struggle behind her. She saw tears, illuminated by the fires, swell around the girls eyes, her whole body shaking.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>No… this couldn’t be happening!</span>
  </em>
  <span> Ruby so desperately thought, her eyes unable to leave Weiss and Whitley, so battered and injured neither could even stand. And Blake… where was Blake!? What had Cinder done with her?! Ruby’s heart raced, deafening her as her breathing intensified. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>No! This couldn’t be happening, not again! </span>
</p><p>
  <span>A shrill scream from behind her caused the Huntress to jump and ripped her out of her thoughts. Cinder’s smile broadened even more wickedly. “And, it seems the last guest has joined us.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ruby forgot to breathe as she reluctantly turned to face where Cinder was looking, another penetrating scream echoing around them accompanied by the shattering of glass. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hovering down the stairs was Penny, her dress ripped, her metal exoskeleton gleaming in the firelight beneath her torn skin.  She entered silently, her emerald blood had spread across her body and, in her hand, echoing the way Cinder had entered, she held Willow Schnee, clutching the struggling woman from her collar. Willow pounded against the android’s unwavering grip, a broken bottle clutched in her hand, each impact causing another fragment to shatter and tear her already bleeding skin. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Penny!” Ruby gasped as she watched her friend enter the room, her jets sputtering from the damage she had previously acquired. However, if the android heard her, or Willow’s desperate pleas, she did not react. Her face was vacant, devoid from emotion, and her eyes were a deep red Ruby had never seen before.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>What had happened to Penny?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Weiss! Whitley!” The woman gasped, stretching out towards where her children were, her own pale eyes wide in desperation.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ruby heard Klein groan beside her as he tried to stand, but fell on his knee, unable to move to aid his wards.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cinder laughed at the dismay that unfolded around them, the cruel sound piercing through Ruby’s chest. The Hound let out a triumphant howl as it prowled towards Cinder and sat beside where she had hovered. This battle was over. They had won.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How does it feel, Ruby?” Cinder sneered, savouring the torment on her adversary’s face. “To know you have lost and that we have won?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Penny!” Ruby panically called, struggling to her feet to reach the girl who refused to look her way. Willow’s feeble struggles were pointless against her captor’s iron grip.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cinder let out an irritated ‘tsk’ sound. “Maybe if I break a few limbs she’ll listen to me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The hound let out a low warning growl which Cinder rolled her eyes to.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t worry, I won't kill her, I know Salem wants her alive but she didn’t say anything about needing to be in one piece.” A cruel smile spread across Cinder’s face as she watched the Huntress’s frantic calls towards the robot. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Android!” Cinder called, rising higher off the ground. “Get rid of that woman and come here, I’ll finish what we started and claim what’s rightfully mine.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Penny, no!” Screamed Ruby as she watched, unable to move, as the girl released Willow onto the ground. The woman collapsed on her feet, gagging and coughing, trying desperately to regain her breath. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Penny ignored her friend's calls and began to fly towards Cinder, hovering just a hand’s distance away from the older woman .</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No! You can’t do this!” Ruby begged, struggling to her feet. However, she was roughly pinned to the ground, the Hound’s unwelcome weight knocking her head against the hard marble floor, her breath knocked out of her in the process. The Hound lowered its head towards her, its rancid breath worsening her daze. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Penny! Wake up!” She sobbed, as all she could do was watch as Cinder extended her Grimm hand, the deformed appendage piercing through her chest and surrounding the two Maidens in a dark, fiery light as the Winter Maiden’s powers began to forcefully be extracted from Penny. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Penny!” Ruby cried, struggling with all her might, her eyes flashing but doing nothing but worsening the pain of her head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Penny’s body began to spasm as the Maiden’s powers began to be sucked out of her, her eyes flashing brighter in response while the hurricane that had formed around the pair continued to intensify. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cinder could feel the pull of the power, the more she took the more she wanted, her hunger insatiable. More! She wanted more! She wanted to drain this woman of metal and circuits dry and, when she was done with her, she’d feast on Ruby's pain. Yes, that would be the finest dessert. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cinder felt the pain before she saw her attacker. A towering woman made of ice, her posture immaculate as she sliced at Cinder’s darkened and deformed hand, severing the connection between the two Maidens. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Agh!!” Cinder cursed, clutching her damaged arm as the mountainous women, donning traditional Huntress armour, stepped between the Maidens and raised its sword once again to attack the woman. Cinder narrowly dodged as her pain and anger blinded her.  Ruby’s eyes widened at the sight. This technique... it was just like Weiss’s! But the woman’s face... </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Willow Schnee was kneeling where she had been dropped, her bleeding palms fiercely pressed against the broken ground.  Intricate circles of glyphs surrounded her beaten frame, her usually neatly kept hair had fallen across her face, her eyes glaring at Cinder. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You will never hurt </span>
  <em>
    <span>any</span>
  </em>
  <span> of my children again!” She bellowed, as her warrior raised its sword, ready to protect what remained of her home. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Whoop! Whoop! Chapter 7 is done and things are really going to pick up from here! Thanks so much for reading and I really hope you liked the chapter. Feel free to drop a review and next update will be on Tuesday :D</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Question</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Emerald almost skewered Neo as she felt the silent woman tap her on the shoulder.</p><p>”A little warning next time!” Emerald hissed, dropping her hands from the handles of her weapons. The shorter woman placed her hands on her hips and rolled her eyes at Emerald. </p><p>“Right…” Muttered Emerald, her annoyance at being interrupted etched in her voice. </p><p>Neo raised an obviously questioning eyebrow. </p><p>“It’s none of your business.” Emerald hissed, turning her back on Neo as she returned to her original, half crouched position. Neo shook her head at the youth as she watched her, the unusual light cast dark shadows at her feet.</p><p>On perfectly silent feet Neo walked behind Emerald and peered past her, curious at what had caught her attention so efficiently.</p><p>  Salem was standing outside an open door, a small handful of Seer Grimm hovered on either side of her, two seemed to have a new captive in their horrible tentacles. Neo’s curiosity continued to rise as she recognised him to be the long haired huntsman that usually travelled alongside Ruby Rose. Had they been compromised? Was Ruby Rose here while Cinder was out hunting her alongside the Hound? A shiver ran down Neo’s body as she heard Salem’s voice.</p><p>“Hazel, see if this prisoner will be more cooperative with his knowledge of the Relic.“ She cooly ordered as, with a slight gesture of her hand, the two Grimm entered the room whose occupants were out of view.</p><p>“Y-yes, your Grace.” Neo could hear the stammer in Hazel’s gruff voice even from where she stood, the rattling of chains followed as Salem’s new prisoner was hung up beside the other.</p><p>  “Hazel, I expect results before my patience completely vanishes.” The witch continued as the Seer Grimm emerged from the room. </p><p>“O-of course”. Hazel agreed.</p><p>  “So he hasn’t told her…” Emerald whispered, turning to look away from the immortal woman, a hand raised to her chin. </p><p>Neo placed her hands on her hips and tapped her foot expectantly.</p><p>“I’m not telling you anything,” Emerald answered stubbornly. </p><p>Neo lowered her hands, shrugged and made to walk past Emerald and towards Salem, who was still oblivious to being spied on.</p><p>  “No! Fine…!” Emerald frantically whispered as she pulled the woman back towards her and one of the Seer Grimm floated past them.</p><p>Neo adjusted her hat and waited for Emerald to speak. </p><p>“I overheard Hazel speaking to the prisoner.” Emerald began, she didn’t trust Neapolitan but, with both Cinder and Mercury away on separate missions, she felt weary of being left alone with the mother of Grimm. “The boy told him how to use the Relic.”</p><p>  Neo’s eyes widened, in her mind replaying the words Hazel had just told Salem, how the boy had not said anything.</p><p>  “I know, Hazel is keeping it secret from Salem… “</p><p>Neo pointed at Emerald, also asking her the same question.</p><p>  “S-something doesn’t feel right… Something about what the boy said… About Salem destroying the world.” Emerald admitted in a hushed voice as another Grimm passed by them, the pair stood up as if they were casually discussing the mundane.</p><p>Neo looked at Emerald in disbelief</p><p>“Yes, I know it's insane but...” Emerald hissed, her eyes darting at the Seer Grimm that hovered through the main passage. </p><p>Neo let out a silent sigh and gestured all around her, they were surrounded by insanity. With a hardened look Neo removed her hat and, with a strained look, she momentarily transformed it to look like the Relic of Knowledge, the lantern in her hands a perfect replica of the real artefact. </p><p>Emerald looked at the item, slightly impressed at how strangely similar their Semblances were. </p><p>Neo pointed from the Relic to Emerald and gestured with her head in Salem’s general direction. The hard look in her eyes left no place for interpretation.</p><p>“Steal it from Salem…?” Emerald’s voice faded, she would have lied if she said the thought had not crossed her mind but even the thought of facing Salem stopped her in her tracks and, if Salem caught her…</p><p>“It’s impossible.” Emerald sighed. “ I’m a master thief but Salem...”</p><p>Neo rolled her eyes at the girl, and tugged at her jacket confidently.</p><p>“Ha! You think you can steal it from her?” Snorted Emerald at the thought, but Neo didn’t waver, even as the teenager held back her disbelieving laughter.</p><p>“Fine.” Emerald finally said.'' But you better have a plan, Salem’s on her way.”</p><hr/><p> Salem regally walked away from the now closed door, the Grimm that had escorted her to the prison had returned to their original posts. She held her head up, her clothing making the briefest of sounds as she walked. She looked surprised as, from a side passage, bowing respectfully, were Cinder’s young followers.</p><p>“Y-your Grace.” Emerald stammered, unable to look the witch in the eyes as she spoke, fear filling every fibre of her body as it did each time she was in the woman’s presence.</p><p>“Emerald, Neapolitan.” Salem mused, as if just remembering the two women were still at the base.</p><p>“Is that...” But Emerald's voice faltered, aware of how little Salem liked to be questioned. Out of the corner of her eye, she could just make out the real Neo stalking behind Salem, her replica of the Relic held firmly in her hand. Sustaining the Neo apparition while holding Salem’s concentration caused Emerald's whole body to shake but, if the woman noticed, she did not care enough to comment.</p><p>“It seems we have intruders.” Salem calmly observed. “Some of Ozma’s delusional hunters, I believe. They have come for the boy and the Relic.”</p><p>“I-Is Ruby with them?” Emerald carefully enquired, as she watched through her eyelashes, Neo silently reached out to grasp the dimly glowing lantern that hung at Salem’s side. </p><p>“No.” Salem answered without hesitation. “The girl is still where Cinder and the Hound were sent, but we do have two more intruders...” Salem paused, a cold sweat trickled down Emerald’s spine as she discreetly watched Neo switch the Relics. Emerald held her breath, waiting for the woman to notice the switch. “ I want you and Neapolitan to find them.” Salem continued, as the real Neo gave Emerald a cocky thumbs up and began to tip-toe away from Salem.</p><p>“Girl!” Salem raised her voice enough for Emerald to jump and lower her head further. “Am I understood?”</p><p>“Y-Yes!” Emerald  stammered, remembering to make the illusion of Neo beside nod her head as well. </p><p>“Good,” Salem responded, her voice returning to its usual, more level tone. “I will leave them in your <em> capable </em> hands.” Without a second glance at the pair, Salem continued her silent journey back to the observation deck to resume her orchestration of Atlas and Mantle’s destruction.</p><p>Emerald let out a weary breath as, on feather light feet, Neo walked towards her, dangling the Relic before her face.</p><p>Emerald took it from her without thanks, noticing  that Neo's hat was back on her head but the grey scarf she usually wore around her neck was gone, most likely to be used to make the fake Relic they’d given Salem. </p><p>“We have to hurry.” Emerald ordered, standing. “It won’t take Salem long to notice we have this.”</p><p>On quick, silent feet the two thieves ran through the passages towards the room that had served as Emerald’s sleeping quarters since her arrival.</p><p>  Emerald clutched the Relic in her hand, pacing through the small, bare room as well as the space would allow.</p><p>Neo raised an eyebrow at the teenager but Emerald kept shaking her head. What had they just done?! Once Salem finds out they’d both be dead, and double so if the boy was telling the truth that  the Relic could answer only one more question. What question could she even ask? She was nothing but a simple street rat, she wasn’t worthy of such an important task. Maybe she could hold on to the Relic until Cinder’s return?</p><p>“We’ll have to thank you for getting the Relic from Salem for us.” An unpleasantly, familiar voice caused Emerald to look up from her pacing as Neo, very deliberately, withdrew her umbrella which had been strapped to her back, its sharp tip gleamed menacingly in the light. Barely having entered the room, two of Ruby’s irritating teammates, Yang, and, if she recalled correctly from her time in Beacon, Jaune, were blocking their only route of escape. Their weapons were drawn as well as they could in the narrow space. </p><p>Neo took a calm step to stand between Emerald and the intruders, her hand on her hip ready for a fight. </p><p><em> They didn’t have time for this! </em> Emerald desperately thought, Salem would find out any minute…</p><p>“Give that back to us.” Yang ordered, her hair glowing as her eyes shifted to red. Emerald pulled the lantern closer to her chest and felt its warmth against her bare skin.</p><p>Neo shook her head at Yang and Jaune. </p><p>Emerald’s mind raced, she had to do something- anything! Was she to fight these two and present them to Salem and ask for forgiveness? Or seek the answer to the one question she so desperately needed to know the answer to?</p><p>“No!” Jaune yelled, as Emerald pressed the Relic even tighter to her chest and yelled.</p><p>“Jinn!” Emerald said as loud as she could, unsure of what she had just done as thick blue smoke began to flow out of the lantern.</p><p>What had she just done?</p><p>Instantly the small group felt time slow around, to become more sluggish as bright blue smoke emerged from the lantern. It filled the air and surrounded them, obscuring the exit as, from the fog, a beautiful woman in blue appeared, chains of gold rattled around her wrists and neck. </p><p>“I am Jinn, a being created by the God of Light to aid humanity in its pursuit of knowledge.” The mystical creature introduced herself, looking intently at Emerald. “I have been graced with the ability to answer three questions every hundred years and, my young friend, you are in luck as I am still able to answer a single question this era. </p><p>“Now tell me, what answer do you seek?” Jinn asked curiously, looking down at Emerald from where she floated. “Ask wisely, for this will be the final question I may answer.”</p><p>“No!” Yelled both Yang and Jaune, making toward the Relic but Neo sliced at their feet, stopping them from interrupting the girl. Emerald looked between Yang and Jinn, her thoughts frantic, when she’d called upon Jinn, she had not expected such a reaction from the Relic. What question could she ask to be worth being the last to be answered for this century? But, the more she mulled it over, the more certain she was of what to ask.</p><p>“What is Salem’s plan for Cinder!?”  Emerald yelled at the celestial being, clutching the lantern to her chest in fear that someone would steal it from her before her question was asked.</p><p>“No!” Yelled Yang as she tried to reach for Emerald, to try stop her, but Jinn gave her an unamused look.</p><p>“Once a question has been asked it cannot be retracted.” Jinn explained, “but that does not mean I want some frivolous flight happening while I answer.” She continued, gesturing elegantly with her hands The chains around her body rattled as bright blue smoke filled the space between the combatants, forcing them to take multiple steps away and look at Jinn with annoyance. </p><p>“Now listen all, as I answer the final question for this era.” She spoke mysteriously, the blue smoke filled the whole room until it obscured all but the four individuals captivated by the words she was about to speak. </p><p>“Just as when the ancient gods left Remnant, the god of light spoke to Ozma of what could be done to save Remnant, the god of darkness spoke to Salem and what could be done to bring upon its demise.” As Jinn spoke, the scenery around the group changed, to portray Salem, surrounded by dark violet smoke as she was being addressed by a horned man- the god of Darkness. </p><p>“Four shall rise bearing the power of old, he told her.” Jinn continued to explain. “They would be ever changing like the seasons. Their power, much like Salem and Ozma’s shall surpass time, but while their bodies may wither, their power shall continue to thrive. However, when four become one in a Maiden of Ancient Blood, and the Relics gather in her presence, the gods shall return and pass judgement on Remnant for what it is, and what its people have made of this once thriving world. And, with this message forever etched within Salem’s mind, the god of darkness left Remnant alongside his brother.”</p><p>“What does that mean!?” Yelled Yang, unable to understand Jinn’s obscure riddles. </p><p>“When four become one…” Jaune muttered, looking between Yang and Jinn. “If Cinder acquires the power of the four Maidens, as well as the Relics... she’ll be able to call upon the gods! And, if they don’t like what they see…”</p><p>“Destroy all of Remnant!” Gasped Yang, her eyes widening in realisation.</p><p>“That can’t be!” Emerald gasped, her chest rising and falling rapidly as she looked up at Jinn. “Salem is going to use Cinder to end Remnant!?”</p><p>But Jinn solemnly shook her head. “Although that is Salem’s plan, she knows it is destined to fail, for the chance of the Fall Maiden being of Ancient Blood are exceedingly slim. If she attempts to take upon herself the power of a second Maiden, and she is not, it may fracture her mind and destroy her body.”</p><p>“No…” Gasped Emerald, almost dropping the Relic in shock. </p><p>Neo raised a surprised hand to her mouth.</p><p>“I’m sorry,” Jinn said, addressing Neo. “I cannot answer you as to who bears the Blood of the Ancients.” The woman looked pleasantly surprised that the mystical being had heard her question although she could not provide her with an answer. “But, if the power of a single Maiden ever came into her possession it would signal that the calling of the gods would be close at hand.”</p><p>Jinn then slowly turned, looking at each member of her audience intently. “I wish you luck my dear warriors and part with you some words of wisdom acquired from one who has served many a millenia, for wisdom and knowledge are two very different notions.” She then paused and looked at Emerald that still clutched the Relic. “You all have set into motion gears that long have been still, the story of Ozma and Salem is coming to a close but, it will be up to you to decide what kind of ending it will have. Remember, even the smallest choice can make the largest ripples.”</p><p>Jinn nodded her head as her parting words filled each of them with a concoction of emotions, very few pleasant. The lantern in Emerald’s hand warmed slightly as Jinn gave an extravagant bow and, along with her mystical fog, began to vanish inside the Relic, its glow dimming into near non-existence.</p><p>“No!” Shrieked Emerald, shaking her head at the artefact. “That can’t be right!” Emerald could feel the panicked tears swelling in her eyes. Salem was grooming Cinder just for her to die some needless death! That couldn’t be right! </p><p>“Jinn!” Emerald called. “Jinn come back!”</p><p>“It’s useless.” Yang sighed, shaking her head sadly. “Jinn can only answer three questions, and that was her last one.”</p><p>“No… she has to be wrong.” Now the tears were freely flowing down Emerald’s cheeks as she stared at the lantern in her hand. “She has to be wrong!” </p><p>A surprisingly soft hand placed over her own caused Emerald to look up, Neo was looking at her, her eyes gentle. For a moment anger swelled within Emerald as she recognised the look in her mismatched eyes- pity. Emerald pulled her hand free as she realised what she had to be done next. </p><p>“We need to stop Cinder from taking the Winter Maiden’s power.” Emerald declared, trying to push away her sobs. “You two have to take us to her!”</p><p>“Whoa! Hold it there.” Yang blurted out, raising her gauntlets as Emerald took a desperate step towards her. “Although I’d <em> love </em> to help you save that crazy pyromaniac, we aren’t taking you anywhere near Penny.”</p><p>“Cinder was sent after Ruby, if she’s anywhere near the Maiden…” Emerald’s voice trailed, Jinn’s words caused fresh dread to chill her veins.</p><p>“Ruby has dealt with Cinder before.” Spat Yang, “If I recall, Cinder lost an eye one time.”</p><p>“But this time Cinder has the Hound with her.” Emerald exclaimed through gritted teeth.</p><p>“The Hound?” Jaune asked, looking at Yang in confusion, “you don’t mean that Grimm that stole Oscar?”</p><p>“Yes!” Emerald begged, desperately, they were wasting time. “We need to go find them, now!”</p><p>“There’s no ‘we’…” Yang growled.</p><p>“That thing is no joke, not even for Ruby.” Jaune carefully began, looking at Yang wearily.</p><p>“Well Ruby has Blake, Weiss, Penny and Nora!” Countered Yang, “And don’t forget she’s got her silver eyes…”</p><p>But Yang found herself faltering, remembering that Ruby was, as yet, unable to fully control her eyes and, recalling their encounter with the Hound filled her with foreboding. </p><p>“We’ll find Ren and Oscar ourselves.” Yang declared, narrowing her eyes at Emerald and Neapolitan. “And we’ll find Ruby and Penny without you two.”</p><p>“It will take too long.” Emerald blurted out as Yang turned to leave. “Salem built this place like a maze, if you don’t know where you are going you’ll never find them.”</p><p>“And you do?” Yang countered.</p><p>“Yes! Salem’s got your other teammate, erm… Ren! In the prisons with Oscar! I can take you to them!” Emerald begged, they were wasting time!</p><p>“How do we know you won’t just lead us to Salem?” Jaune asked, skeptically, though he itched to get out and continue looking for Ren, especially now that he’d learnt he’d been captured by Salem</p><p>“Once she finds out we stole the Relic and used up Jinn’s last question, Salem is going to kill the two of us!” Emerald blurted out. </p><p>Neo nodded her head in agreement. Gracefully, Neo took the Relic from Emerald and presented it to Jaune, her intention clear- a peace offering. </p><p>“This doesn’t mean we trust you.” Jaune said, taking the lantern from Neo, and the woman rolled her eyes, the sentiment shared. </p><p>“We’ll take you to your friends.” Emerald continued, “And you take us to find Cinder.”</p><p>“Fine.” Yang spat,” But if you even think of stabbing us in the back before then...” Yang’s eyes flashed red in warning. </p><p>Just as Yang was about to tell Emerald what she would do to her if she betrayed them a shrill, feral scream coursed through the very core of Salem's palace, causing every inch of it to shake in fearful anticipation. Emerald’s blood turned to ice, Salem had just discovered their deceit. </p><p>“Yes! Fine! I get it!” Emerald growled. “We have to hurry, now!”</p><p>Without another word, Yang reluctantly took a step back, opening the way out of the small room. Emerald charged out, Neo hot on her heels, followed by Yang and Jaune. They ran through the corridors frantically, it was only through blind luck they didn't encounter any of Salem’s guards but Emerald stopped just as she forced open the prison door. </p><p>Their luck had just run out</p><p> “Is this some joke?!” Yang yelled, grabbing at Emerald’s collar and pressing her against the wall. </p><p>“I-I don’t understand.” She choked out, as she felt Yang’s cold metal hand pressed against her throat, looking past the glowing haired woman at the chains that hung idly in the air. The prisoners were nowhere to be seen.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hi! Thanks so much for reading but I hope you enjoyed it. It was a little long but with a reveal like that couldn't make it any shorter. Feel free to drop a comment and next update will be on Friday. Thanks again :D</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Voices</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“You hag!” Cinder shrieked, as she clutched the stub of what remained of her Grimm arm to her chest. “You will pay for this!”</p><p>The titanic avatar of Willow stood between Cinder and Penny, its sword raised before its armoured chest, its blank eyes stared Cinder down without fear. </p><p>“Never touch my children!” Willow hissed, as her avatar raised its sword ready to attack. Cinder growled in anger, she would <em> not </em> allow the Winter Maiden to escape her again! As her anger continued to swell within her, a ring of fire began to swarm around her, agitating the air. </p><p>“I will make you wish-” But, whatever Cinder was going to threaten Willow with was left open for them to interpret, as she was knocked to the side, a human shaped dent being formed where she collided with the wall.</p><p>“What’s wrong, Cinder? Cat’s got your tongue?” A hoarse voice bellowed over the sound of cracking marble. </p><p>“Blake!” Weiss called in relief, as she finally made out the figure that had Cinder momentarily pinned to the wall. Blake’s ears were flattened in anger, one of her jacket sleeves was torn at the seams and the edge of her coat was singed. One of Blake's swords was being pressed against Cinder’s throat, who tried to hold it back with her injured arm.</p><p>“You should have stayed out in the snow, little kitty.” Cinder hissed, as she struggled against the Huntress. </p><p>“Well, you should have finished me off better.” Blake spat back, raising her remaining blade which Cinder desperately blocked with her other free hand.</p><p>“Duly noted.” Cinder answered cockily, as fire surrounded her only visible eye and a wave of pure energy erupted from her body, pushing Blake forcefully away. She landed, crouched on her legs and one hand on the ground to steady herself. Blake gritted her teeth as Cinder massaged her throat and looked down at Blake with irritation.</p><p>“Blake!” Weiss called again, causing the Huntress to look in her and her brother’s direction. Blake’s ears shifted from anger to sadness, unable to look her friend in the eyes. </p><p>“I’m sorry, Weiss.” She soberly apologised. “I couldn't keep you safe.”</p><p>“You idiot.” Weiss shook her head in disbelief as Whitley struggled to sit up and look at the Faunus, every movement sending a ping of pain throughout his body. “We’re all alive, aren’t we?”</p><p>Weiss’s small smile gave Blake courage, before she turned her attention back to Cinder who was carefully extracting herself from the wall. </p><p>“Not for much longer!” She growled, flying towards Blake but Willow’s avatar sliced through the air, narrowly missing decapitating the furious woman. </p><p>“You useless bucket of bolts!” She hollered. “Get rid of that thing!”</p><p>“Penny, no!” Ruby yelled, the Hound’s claws pressed themselves deeper into her flash as she helplessly watched the android extend her arms and an almost perfect ring of green lined blades floated from the holder on her back. “Get off me!” Ruby begged, as her struggles intensified.</p><p>“You heard the young lady!” A deep voice growled. “Get off her!”  And, with a hefty punch, the Hound was sent stumbling into the already destroyed suit of armour that usually stood sentinel near the staircase. </p><p>“Thanks Klein.” Ruby panted as she jumped to her feet and retrieved her weapon. The butler cracked his knuckles and began to advance towards the Hound. </p><p>“Klein, I think it’s about time these <em> guests </em> are shown the door.” Willow called, the light of her Glyphs glowed fiercely around her feet, her eyes never leaving her avatar as it struggled to hold Penny at bay. </p><p>“With pleasure.” He agreed, his eyes still glowing with a multitude of colours. “Ms Rose, go help your friends, I can handle this thing for now.”</p><p>“Right!” Agreed Ruby, turning her back on the Hound so she could take in the battle unfolding before her.</p><hr/><p>“Mother’s getting tired.” Whispered Weiss as she looked past the combatants to where her mother stood, crouched, the strain of maintaining her Semblance visible on her face.</p><p>“Weiss…” Whitley began to say as his sister struggled to stand up. She staggered forwards as pain shot through her whole body, her fall only hampered by her brother’s intervention. </p><p>“We need to help them.” She murmured, her eyes moving from her mother, to Klein, to Blake who was struggling to keep Cinder’s attention away from the more vulnerable and injured.</p><p>“You can barely stand!” Whitley pleaded, as he struggled to keep his sister back.</p><p>“Neither can they.” She solemnly admitted, she’d been in enough battles to know when one had dragged out beyond their stamina, they were all running on fumes, injured and exhausted and yet… Despite all that, they continued to do all they could to keep their companions alive. Weiss’s expression softened slightly as her hand felt to her brother’s while he desperately tried to keep her back, to keep her safe the only way he knew how. </p><p>“I’ll keep you safe, Whitley.”</p><p>Without another word, she crouched to the ground and tried to focus on her Semblance as the Glyphs appeared around her feet, simultaneously as one on either side of Blake did. Whitely stumbled back as he felt the power of his sister's attack course through him. From the two silver rings that hovered on either side of Blake a white Lancer emerged. </p><p>Blake nodded her head at Weiss in thanks. </p><p>“Ruby, help Penny!” Called Weiss, as she watched the young Huntress look between her teammates and Penny, desperately wishing to help both.</p><p>“We will deal with Cinder.” Agreed Blake, as she crossed her swords.</p><p>Ruby nodded her head as she looked up at Penny. She moved her hands towards each other, her knives flew towards the avatar with blaring speed. The problem with that plan was that she didn’t have the slightest idea how she could help Penny, she didn’t even know what was wrong! </p><p>“Nice moves, Mrs Schnee!” Ruby called, as she watched the avatar take a step towards Penny,  blocking every single one of her blades.</p><p>“Well, Winter may have taught Weiss.” Willow called through strangled breaths. “But who do you think trained Winter?”</p><p>Nodding her head with renewed determination, Ruby used her Semblance to land on the giant warrior’s shoulder, her full and undivided attention on the red-eyed girl, her emotionless face unnerving. </p><p>Penny’s eyes looked upon Ruby but she did not seem to actually <em> see </em> her.</p><p>“Please, Penny!” Ruby begged, brandishing her scythe before her body. “Snap out of it!”</p><p>
  <em> Please…  </em>
</p><p>“Stop this Penny! This isn’t you!” The Huntress continued to call as the android sent her blades flying towards her. Ruby skilfully spun her scythe between her hands, deflecting each one with a loud clanging sound. “Something must be controlling you! Penny you gotta fight this!”</p><p>
  <em> Please… I don’t want to fight my friends. </em>
</p><p>Penny paused for a moment, as the sound of the battles that surrounded them filled the air.  Ruby almost allowed herself to hope that Penny had heard her but, as she hovered in the air, her face illuminated by the burning embers, she extended a single hand slowly, guiding six of her blades to hover at her side, floating in a slow circle, their tips pointed at Ruby.  In one fluid motion, she did the same with her other side. As the blades continued their slow rotation, green electricity began to pulsate between the weapons, colliding in the centre until an orb of pure energy was beginning to form. </p><p>Ruby’s eyes widened as she realised what Penny had planned and, she had just enough time to react, activating her Semblance to jump onto the back of the avatar, her Scythe screeching against the Glyph as she pierced through it, forcefully stopping her own movements. She dangled there as the lasers finally came in contact with the Avatar. The Glyph shuddered under the force of the twin blasts, crumbling away where the green light came in contact with the avatar. The beams moved steadily, converging towards the middle of the warrior’s chest and caused Ruby to use her Semblance to roll to the ground. </p><p>Miraculously, she had escaped the attack unscathed but she looked up at Willow’s avatar as if in a trance, as the green lasers faded but, the scar they left in its place spread across the glyph and shattered into a flurry of fine white dust. Under any other circumference Ruby may have described it to be beautiful, the way the fragments shimmered in the firelight.  The fine particles rained over Ruby as the light around Willow flickered out of existence. The woman let out a pained groan and she fell forward, her breathing heavy as her Glyph was destroyed, and, with it, the remnants of her protection.</p><p>Before the last of Willow’s Semblance vanished, Penny flew through flurry straight towards Ruby. The Huntress raised her scythe to block but Penny adjusted her movements and extended an arm, her damaged hand coming into contact with the bottom of Ruby’s chin, the force sending her staggering backwards. Although Ruby’s Aura absorbed most of the punch she still felt her teeth chatter from the impact. Ruby shook her head, trying to shake off the effect of the attack but, as the stars had begun to fade from vision, something hard hit her cheek, causing her to stagger as she floundered with her scythe, trying to block Penny’s ceaseless attack, each punch being felt more strongly as her Aura began to flicker. </p><p>
  <em> Please… stop! </em>
</p><p>Ruby tried to dodge, her vision blared, the pain intensifying each time one of Penny’s hits made contact. A few times she managed to block one of the blows but Penny remained unphased, retaliating with an even more powerful strike. Ruby took a step back, tripping over a piece of flaming wood. She gritted her teeth against the pain, feeling the shock as her leg came in contact with the unwelcome heat. She fell back, pain and fatigue filling every inch of her body, her back unexpectedly coming in contact with a wall. </p><p>She could retreat no further.</p><p>Penny paused before her, unmoved at the sight of her injured friend who, no matter how desperately she tried, could not find it in herself to hurt her. </p><p>This wasn’t Penny...</p><p>Penny was kind and just and good...  </p><p>Penny would never do this… </p><p>But then, who else could this be?</p><p>Ruby raised Crescent Rose over her head, attempting to push the android back but Penny lunged forwards, she gripped Ruby’s wrist and twisted it at an unnatural angle. Ruby cried out in pain as she dropped her weapon and Penny took another step towards her, her face seemingly oblivious to the pain she was inflicting upon her friend. Ruby struggled to hold back the pain while she tried to use her Semblance to escape but faltered. Penny’s grip on her wrist tightened further and she pushed her against the hard marble wall, Ruby’s head bounced against it with a sick crack.</p><p>“Penny…” Ruby whispered, her world beginning to darken.</p><hr/><p>
  <em> I don’t want to hurt Ruby. </em>
</p><p>“You must do what Cinder demands.” The unwelcome voice of Watts echoed through Penny’s mind<em> . “ </em> You cannot fight your programming <em> .” </em></p><p>
  <em> Please, don’t make me do this… you can’t! </em>
</p><p>The low, cruel voice echoed through her mind, drowning out Penny's own small voice<em> .  </em></p><p><em> “ </em> Your will is Salem’s now, you will do as she pleases. <em> ” </em></p><p>
  <em> But… my will is my own...  </em>
</p><p>"You cannot fight your programming."</p><p>
  <em> No… </em>
</p><p>"You are nothing but your programming."</p><p><b> <em>Do not believe this man, Penny Polendina.</em> </b> </p><p>A new voice emerged from the depth of Penny's mind, pulling her away from the darkness that threatened to drown her. It was a woman’s but one Penny could not recall ever hearing before. </p><p>
  <em> But… </em>
</p><p>
  <b> <em>He wishes to simply sow seeds of doubt and turmoil. Listen to your heart, Penny Polendina.</em> </b>
</p><p>"You are simply a machine. You must do what your programming demands"</p><p>
  <b> <em>Never has it been said that a heart must be made of flesh and blood, or a machine can’t possess a soul.</em> </b>
</p><p>"You cannot fight your programming." </p><p>
  <b> <em>And yet… since this man’s programme was installed you have been unable to call upon the Maiden’s power.</em> </b>
</p><p>"You are your programming."</p><p>
  <b> <em>That is because, although he controls your body, your soul is yours alone.</em> </b>
</p><p>"You must do what your programming demands."</p><p>
  <em> I’m sorry… but who are you?  </em>
</p><p>Penny’s own voice was barely audible over Watts’, who continued to argue with the unknown woman.</p><p>
  <b> <em>No one of importance.</em> </b>
</p><p>However, if it were possible, Penny heard a smile in the woman’s voice.</p><p>
  <em> But… </em>
</p><p>
  <b> <em>Penny, call upon your power.</em> </b>
</p><p>
  <em> I can’t... </em>
</p><p>
  <b> <em>You are more than your programming, Penny. You are more real than some made of flesh and blood.</em> </b>
</p><p>
  <em> I… </em>
</p><p>
  <b> <em>Just believe, Penny Polendina. Your friends need your help.</em> </b>
</p><p>Penny paused as she sensed the woman’s voice begin to fade away, to disappear to the unknown from which she’d originally emerged. Watt’s voice continued to rise but, although Penny sensed him there, his words had vanished, to be drowned by the power that began to swell within her.</p><p>
  <em> Thank you. </em>
</p><hr/><p>“Penny… please…” Ruby’s pleas were barely a whisper, her vision blurring as her friend’s grip around her broken wrist refused to lighten, she could feel blood dripping down the back of her neck from where it had hit the wall.</p><p> “Please…” She begged, her silver eyes falling on Penny’s unnatural red ones. “Please…” She whispered as her world continued to turn dark, her imagination playing one final trick on the girl while unconsciousness tugged at her mind. </p><p>For the briefest second, it would have almost appeared that Penny’s eyes had flashed to green.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hey :D So chapter 9 is up, I really hope that 3-way conversation was clear (was a little tricky writing 3 disembodied voices) :3. Anyway, thanks so so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Feel free to drop a comment next update will be on Friday :D</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Prisoner</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Hazel…” Oscar’s weary voice escaped as a croak, the pain that filled his body had numbed him, reducing it momentarily to a dull, throbbing ache. </p><p>“Shut up!” Hazel growled, stomping towards where the boy dangled. He clenched his fist, the vessels that webbed across his arm and temple pulsated with anger. However, as the boy flinched, anticipating Hazel's next blow, the man forced his eyes shut, straightening up and lowering his still closed fist. </p><p>“Now that I have what Salem needs about the Relic, the boy needn't suffer more.” Hazel’s low voice was of little comfort. </p><p>“Hazel…” Oscar tried again, struggling to look up at the man, his head feeling abnormally heavy, and even that simple gesture tired him. </p><p>“I told you to stay quiet!” Hazel ordered, his teeth clenched, as he walked away from the prisoner, struggling to hold back his anger.</p><p>“If you were going to tell Salem how to use the Relic, why haven’t you done so yet?” Oscar enquired, watching carefully as the man began to pace across the small prison. Behind him, on a small table, Oscar could just make out Ozpin’s cane, Everlasting Memory.</p><p>Hazel continued with his pacing, his breathing becoming more agitated.</p><p>“It's because you <em> know </em> that if Salem gets what she wants, millions of innocents will perish.” Oscar let out a long, tired breath. “Though admittedly, in your eyes, Ozpin’s done the same.”</p><p>Hazel opened his mouth to answer but a low, scratching noise at the door warned the pair before it opened to reveal Salem, her tall, slender form towering over the two. Her cold eyes surveyed them. Around her dark skirts were numerous Seer Grimm, their crystalline bodies hovering in the air beside them. </p><p>“Has Ozma revealed anything of interest yet?” She commanded, glaring at the man as Oscar tried to avoid meeting the immortal woman’s eyes. Whenever he looked at her, at her pale, once beautiful face, emotions swelled up within him, emotions he knew were not his own and he had no right possessing for this witch.</p><p>“Your Grace!” Hazel hastily greeted, bowing before the immortal woman. “N-nothing so far.” Although the man fumbled on his words he had not lied before his master for, it was not Ozpin who had told him how to conjure Jinn, in-fact Ozpin had opted to follow Oscar’s lead on this and allowed him to do the talking. </p><p>“Stubborn old fool as always.” Salem muttered, glaring down at Oscar with almost palpable disdain. “But never mind.” She quickly added. “Hazel, see if this prisoner will be more cooperative with his knowledge of the Relic.“ She cooly ordered as, with a slight gesture of her hand, two Grimm, which had previously been out of view, entered the room.</p><p>Oscar's eyes widened as he recognised who they had brought in. Ren was struggling against his restraints but he halted when he saw the boy and the bruised and beaten state he was in.</p><p>“Y-yes, your Grace.” Hazel gruffly replied, as Ren was forcefully hung up beside Oscar, his weapons relieved from him and placed alongside Oscar's cane. Ren’s chains rattled as he pulled uselessly against them, unable to free himself.</p><p>  “Hazel, I expect results before my patience completely vanishes.” The witch continued as the Seer Grimm emerged from the room to hover beside their master. </p><p>“O-of course.” Hazel agreed.</p><p>“With this one you don’t have to be so gentle.” Salem continued as, with a slight gesture, her small horde of Grimm began to dissipate and return to their original locations.</p><p>“What do you mean, my Grace?” Hazel enquired though, deep down, he already knew her answer.</p><p>“This Huntsman of Ozma’s has no luxury of rebirth, he may be more willing to talk with the <em> right </em> motivation.” Salem elaborated calmly, as if she were merely suggesting they cut his hair.</p><p>“Understood.” Hazel responded, bowing his head in respect.</p><p>“I’ll leave you to it then.” The immortal woman responded, turning her back on the man and his captives, the door closing as she vanished from view.</p><p>“You’ve no idea how glad I am to see a friendly face.” Sighed Oscar, his voice low as he wearily looked up at the older man.</p><p>“I just wish we’d gotten here sooner.” Ren admitted, taking in the sorry state the boy was unfortunately in. His face was bruised and one of his eyes had swollen to the point he could barely open it.</p><p>“We?” He echoed.</p><p>“Yang and Jaune are here as well.” He replied, his voice hushed, opting not to mention he didn’t know exactly where they were at that moment.</p><p>Oscar dropped his head awkwardly, fighting back the warm feeling that threatened to spread through him, emotions that should not have been welcome after having brought his companions into this trouble.</p><p>“You shouldn’t have…” Oscar began, shaking his tired head but Ren interrupted him before he could finish.</p><p>“You’re our teammate and our friend.” Ren blurted out. “We’ll always come to find you.”</p><p>“And it is foolish ideas like that will get you killed.” Hazel explained, walking up to the new arrival. </p><p>“You’re the one that hangs out with that electricity girl.” Hazel recalled, remembering from the last time he’d fought the woman back in Minstrel, it wasn’t very often he lost a battle of strength and he was not naive enough to claim she had just gotten lucky.</p><p>“You better hope that when Nora finds out about what you’ve done to Oscar you're a kingdom away.” Ren growled, narrowing his eyes as the man walked closer. Nora was a protector from her very core, always keeping them safe the only way she knew how. Over the years she’d come to consider Oscar almost like a kid brother and no big sister would allow her brother to get beaten up like that without making the other guy look even worse. </p><p>“That’s assuming either one of you leaves this place alive.” Hazel sombrely answered, ignoring Ren's threats. </p><p>“Well, you can torture me all you want.” Ren hissed through gritted teeth. “I’ll never tell you how to use the Relic.”</p><p>The two men glared at each other momentarily, Hazel’s light eyes never leaving Ren’s before Hazel gave the youth his back with a low growl.</p><p>“I’ve actually already told him how to call Jinn.” Oscar sheepishly answered, looking up at Ren with a feeble smile.</p><p>“W-what?” Ren stammered, taken aback but, looking at the state the boy was in, he wouldn’t have blamed him for giving in to the torture.</p><p>“The real question though,” Oscar continued, looking from Ren to Hazel. “Is why he hasn’t told Salem yet.”</p><p>Ren's eyes widened in realisation. Oscar was right, Hazel just now had had an opportunity to tell Salem but, knowing now Hazel already knew the information, he had blatantly lied to her, so the real question was- why <em> hadn’t </em> he?</p><p>“You children do not know anything.” Hazel said, his voice low, his warning not to push him further, clear. “Ozpin sent Gretchen to her death, just like he did all his huntsman!”</p><p>“Fighting creatures Salem creates.” Oscar quietly commented, flinching as Hazel raised his clenched fist to the boy's face but chose not to strike him.</p><p>Ren looked at Hazel as he felt his Semblance activate, not Tranquility, but the other one, the one he had no name for yet, and the one that was still out of his control. The world around him turned grey as his eyes focused on Hazel alone. Around the man petal-like structures began to appear in an agitated flurry of dark blue and vibrant orange. As he looked upon them, although he’d only seen such things a mere handful of times, their meaning was as clear as they had been when he addressed the Ace Ops, when he’d looked upon the apparition of his father, as when he’d studied Salem .</p><p>“What are you looking at, boy?” Rumbled Hazel, his attention moving from Oscar to the Huntsman. </p><p>Ren shook his head in surprise and his world faded back to colour once again. This new evolution of his Semblance, he still didn’t fully understand how to control it, sometimes, it was as easy as using Tranquility, other times it felt as if he had no control whatsoever.</p><p>“You are… hurt and sad…” Ren observed, his interpretation of the petals’ colours and movements flowing out of him before he could stop himself.</p><p>“No shit!”  Spat Hazel, stomping up to Ren.</p><p>“But… you are also uncertain... confused…” Ren continued. </p><p>“Ren…?” Oscar warned in a low voice, as he watched Hazel clench and unclench his fist, desperately trying to hold back his anger. </p><p>“You are furious not only at Professor Ozpin, but at your sister as well…” Ren coughed and gasped for breath as Hazel, unable to listen to his words, punched him in the stomach, the pain only slightly dampened by his Aura.</p><p>“You know nothing of Gretchen!” He spat, saliva spraying across Ren’s face as he wheezed but Ren continued to speak through it.</p><p>“You’re angry at her for becoming a Huntress, even though you begged her not to… you’re furious that she chose to be a Huntress despite your warnings…”</p><p>“Shut up!” Hazel yelled again, punching Ren in the face in retaliation. </p><p>Ren gasped at the shock of the pain but continued to speak, his gaze never wavered from Hazel. “That she died and left you behind.”</p><p>Silence fell over the small group, so heavy it threatened to drown them all.  Oscar's hazel eyes moved between the two men, his breath held, not having anticipated such a confrontation incited by Ren from all people.</p><p>“She insisted on becoming a Huntress.” Hazel declared. “I warned her she could die but she joined that monster’s damn academy anyway…”</p><p>“And you want to know why.” Ren breathed, finally fully understanding what had been shown to him.</p><p>“Huntresses have been fighting the Grimm for centuries!” He yelled, the vein along his temple pulsating. “ For centuries lives have been lost and we will never ever be closer to winning, so why!?”  </p><p>Ren paused before answering, his voice as calm as usual.</p><p>“I cannot speak for your sister but I admit it, I was not ready to be Huntsman.” Ren confessed, remembering how he’d previously exploded in front of Yang and Jaune, unable to push back the emotions that had grown within him and beyond his control.</p><p>“So why do you continue to fight Salem?” Hazel’s eyes were almost begging, asking for answers that have eluded him for years. Why would his sister? These children? Anyone?! Continue to fight a battle they knew they couldn’t win? “Why do you risk your lives in vain?”</p><p>Ren paused and Hazel thought that maybe, finally, the young man had come to see things as he did but rather, Ren’s eyes widened slightly, as if he too had just found the answer he had been looking for. </p><p>“Because… we have people worth risking our lives for.” He admitted as finally it became almost blindingly clear- Why each of them continued to fight, knowing that the odds were stacked against them. “I lost everything to the Grimm… my father… my mother… the only home I ever knew. But, even now I continue to fight, “ He took in a shaky breath, rekindled determination in his eyes. “Because I still have people I want to protect.” But then Ren’s voice faltered, as one person in particular came to the forefront of his mind. A familiar face that, since they had parted ways, he had often found himself looking over his shoulder in search of. “Just as your sister had wished to protect you.” He finally said, the weight of Ren’s words more painful to Hazel than any form of torture Salem could ever conjure.</p><p><em> That was… unexpected. </em> Ozpin murmured in Oscar's mind as the boy looked awestruck at the man’s rather uncharacteristic declaration.</p><p>Hazel looked at Ren as if he really did wish to punch him again. He very well may have, or he very well may have continued to remain silent. However the man may have reacted was lost as the room shook, as if struck by a terrible earthquake, a furious scream echoed through the building's very core.</p><p>“What was that?” Oscar hesitantly asked, looking at Ren but who seemed as lost as he felt. Without any warning, the door behind Hazel slid open and a single Seer Grimm hastily floated in, its tentacles anxiously fidgeting in the air. </p><p>“Your Grace!” exclaimed Hazel, bowing to the creature.</p><p>“We’ve got two traitors in our midst.” Salem’s voice wafted from the Grimm as clear as if she had been there in person, her anger obvious.</p><p>“T-traitors?” Hazel stammered, fearing the conversation he’d just had with the prisoners may have been overheard.</p><p>“Emerald and Neapolitan.” Salem blatantly declared. “They’ve stolen the Relic for some foolish reason or other and I want you to retrieve it.”</p><p>“And… what of the defectors?” Hazel carefully asked.</p><p>“Dispose of them.” Salem calmly ordered. “I have no use for pawns that won’t do as they are told.”</p><p>“U-understood.” </p><p>The Grimm hovered before Hazel a moment longer before floating towards the door and vanishing through the passage. </p><p>In silence, the prisoners watched Hazel rise from his knees.</p><p><em> Why would Emerald and Neapolitan steal the Relic? </em> Oscar asked Ozpin as he watched Hazel silently walk towards him.</p><p><em> For nothing good, I assume. </em> Ozpin sighed, as Hazel reached out and grabbed at the cuffs that impaired his body’s movement. Oscar flinched as the pressure around his bruised wrists increased but just as suddenly vanished, falling to the ground, not having anticipated the sudden freedom. Oscar pushed himself up, watching cautiously as Hazel did the same to Ren, releasing the Huntsman from his restraints, landing on the ground far more skilfully than Oscar had.</p><p>“A-are you letting us go?” Oscar carefully enquired, as Ren covered the distance between them and very carefully helped the injured boy to his feet. The pair looked at Hazel expectantly, unsure of what to make of his actions.</p><p>“With the Relic gone, Salem won’t be able to use the information I have.” He explained, turning his back on his former captives. “And, in this confusion, no one will notice you’ve escaped until it's too late.”</p><p>“Hazel…” Oscar began, reaching out for the man but he took a step towards the door, moving further out of reach. </p><p>“I won’t be joining you.” He declared. “I still believe there is no way of stopping Salem but,” He paused, choosing his words carefully. “I won’t stop you from trying.” The man spared the boy and Huntsman a look from over his shoulders, the emotion in his eyes impossible to read. “The only way out is from the landing bay, follow this passage down and take the next two rights. You will find a ship there.”</p><p>“Thank you.” Oscar responded, giving the man a small smile which he chose to ignore.</p><p>“Don’t thank me.” Hazel growled walking out of the door. “I have only delayed the inevitable.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>And another chapter done! Thanks so much for reading and I really hope you enjoyed it (I'm a little biased but I like writing as Ren :3). Currently in quarantine (had to travel to a different country for studies but all good) so hopefully going to get a few more chapters ready in advance. Thanks again for reading and feel free to drop a comment, next update will be on Friday :D</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Loss</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Whoop Whoop! RWBY hiatus comes to an end tomorrow!!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“P-Penny?” Ruby struggled to keep her eyes open as the damage from her injury threatened to drag her into the world of unconsciousness. Penny took several steps away from the Huntress, her head twitching to the side as her crimson eyes flickered to green and back to red.</p><p>“You- you- you -you.” Penny repeated several times, sounding much like a record whose needle had gotten stuck. “Prog-prog-programming. You can’t fight your pro-programming.”</p><p>“Programming?” Ruby could barely comprehend the girl’s words as she desperately struggled to remain focused, her thoughts sluggish. What was Penny saying about programming?</p><p>“No- No- No- No hurt fr-fr-friends.” Penny continued, her eyes turning green as she said this and, unless it was Ruby’s injured mind playing tricks on her, it almost seemed as if Penny had returned to her normal self, though her face was contorted in strain and frustration.</p><p>“Pr-programming.'' Penny repeated, her eyes turning to red once again.</p><p>“No!” She yelled even more loudly, pressing the side of her head between her damaged hands and closing her eyes just as Ruby saw them turn back to their familiar shade of green.</p><p>“Penny?” Ruby cautiously asked. She tentatively approached Penny, her hands outstretched towards her. Ruby looked around her for help but all seemed too preoccupied by their own battles to notice what was happening with the android.</p><p>“You cannot fight your programming.” Penny said, the words monotonous as they left her lips.</p><p>“I will not hurt my friends.'' Penny argued with herself, struggling.</p><p>“Penny, I don’t know what’s going on but you’ve got to fight it.” Ruby begged, taking another careful step in the girl’s direction.</p><p>“You are your programming.” Penny monotonously replied. </p><p>“Watt’s is- ugh- trying to take over my -egh- systems.” Penny tried to explain, each word escaped her as if they caused indescribable pain to be said.</p><p>Ruby’s eyes widened, finally understanding what had caused her friend to join Cinder’s side and, with this realisation the last fragments of cloud dissipated form her mind, clearing her thoughts.</p><p>“You can’t let him take control Penny!” Ruby pleaded, reaching out and placing a firm hand on each of Penny’s shoulders.</p><p>“You are your programming.” Robotically answered Penny.</p><p>“That’s not true!” Blurted out Ruby. “Penny is Penny, it doesn’t matter what her programming says.”</p><p>“P.E.N.N.Y.” The robot declared, looking up at Ruby with red eyes. “Protective Engineered Neural Network Yataghan.”</p><p>Ruby blinked, unable to understand the meaning of half the words Penny had just uttered.</p><p>“No!” Penny protested, shaking her head, her eyes fading to green. “I am Penny Polendena, protector of Mantle!”</p><p>“Only because your programming used to code for so!”</p><p>“N-no,” Penny desperately spat out, arguing with herself. “I-I am Penny Polendina.”</p><p>“Programming.”</p><p>“Daughter of Pietro Polendina.”</p><p>“Coding.”</p><p>“Protector of Mantle.”</p><p>“Rewritten.”</p><p>“And friend to Ruby Rose.” Penny raised her head at Ruby’s soft words. The Huntress did not try to hide her concern as she looked at the robot, unable to imagine the internal struggle that was going on inside her head. She looked at her, one eye red, one eye green. </p><p>“I am Penny Polendina.” Penny breathed out, her voice strained. “Daughter of Pietro Polendina.” She closed her eyes once again, her voice increasing in both volume and certainty. “Protector of Mantle.” She lowered her hands from the sides of her head. “Friend to Ruby Rose.” She smiled as she said this, standing up straighter. “Winter Maiden.” She declared, finally opening her eyes to look at Ruby, her eyes green and surrounded by an emerald fire. “And I am more than my programming!”</p><p>With that final statement the power of the Maiden swirled around her, washing over Ruby in a frigid burst that, although passed harmlessly over her and her friends, it caused both the Hound and Cinder to stagger and fresh cracks to spread across the whole infrastructure of Schnee Manor. </p><p>Ruby blinked against the cold that caused her eyes to water, her vision blurring slightly. </p><p>“Salutations, Ruby.” Ruby smiled at the familiar greeting, her vision finally coming into focus to see her friend beaming at her. Although she looked beaten and weary, the Maiden’s power practically erupted from her, familiar green eyes that were Penny's, looked back at her.</p><p>“Hey Penny.” Ruby answered, pulling the android towards her and embracing her, fighting back the cold chill that ran through her body from the contact.</p><p>“No!” Cinder’s shrieks echoed across the air as both girls broke their hug to look at the Fall Maiden. Her cape was ripped, her eyepatch slightly askew, just revealing the red tinged border of her eye socket.  “Useless! You are all useless!” She shrieked, the flames around her eye increasing in strength, the power of the Maiden exploded from her being, sending friend and foe stumbling back and finally, Schnee Manor could not hold out any longer. </p><p>For three generations it had stood, housing one family head after another, countless foreign dignitaries and notable individuals had passed through its doors. Innumerable history making moments had been written behind its walls, and many more, less significant ones. However, it could not stand forever, finally to be felled by a woman tossing a tantrum.</p><p> A column collapsed between Klein and the Hound, the Grimm growled at the interruption and the butler tried to strike the creature again. However the Hound jumped over the man, its crimson eyes on new prey. </p><p>“You worthless brats!” Cinder continued to yell, her fist clenched as fire began to spread across her arm. Blake took a weary step back, the lone survivor of Weiss’s Glyphs hovered protectively beside the Faunus, who was leaning on one of her swords, her breaths ragged. Weiss bit the inside of her cheek, cursing that her sword was still lying somewhere near the shed leaving her useless except to make use of her Semblance. Blake staggered sideways, dodging a piece of the ceiling that had begun to rain around them as the columns that previously held up the mansion continued to give way.  </p><p>“You will pay for this!” Cinder growled, flames hovering around her palm. She took a step towards the Huntress but she protested in surprise as the Hound landed behind her. With its ragged fangs it grabbed the woman’s collar, much like a dog would a disobedient pup, and pulled her out the main entrance, narrowly saving the ungrateful Cinder from a large piece of broken stone. Weiss pushed Whitley behind her as the Hound leaped over the siblings. The woman continued to struggle against the Grimm’s grip as it paid Weiss and Whitley little heid and vanished outside.</p><p>“Weiss! Blake!” Ruby tried to call, as the sound of the crumbling continued to increase. </p><p>“We’ll go after her!” Blake declared already running towards Weiss. </p><p>“We need to get Nora!” Weiss yelled, trying to run into the collapsing building but Whitley pulled her back before another piece of ceiling fell where she had been standing. </p><p>“Go after Cinder!” Ruby desperately called, choking as the dust began to unpleasantly mix with the flames. “We’ll get Nora.”</p><p>“<em> I’ll </em> get Nora.” Penny sternly corrected, causing Ruby to look away from Weiss, Blake and Whitley as they ran out of the building. </p><p>“If I use my Semblance I can reach her.” Ruby tried to explain but Penny shook her head. </p><p>“And if you’re too slow you’ll be trapped.” Penny explained, her eyes glowing slightly as she turned to fully look at Ruby. “You need to get Klein and Mrs Schnee safely out of here.”</p><p>“But!” Ruby began to protest but Penny pulled her unexpectedly towards her, pressing her body against hers as debris rained down behind Ruby, if they didn’t move soon, they’d <em> all </em> get trapped inside. </p><p>“Please Ruby, I hurt my friends, let me do this.”  There was no hesitation in Penny’s voice as she carefully released Ruby.</p><p>“Fine.” Ruby reluctantly agreed, knowing they didn’t have time to argue. Penny activated her jets at her answer. “But please come back safe, you and Nora both.”</p><p>“It's a deal.” And, with that, Penny flew over the destroyed staircase, over Willow and out of sight.</p><p>Ruby collapsed her scythe and placed it against her back, allowing the magnet to keep it in place as she activated her Semblance, the deep red rose petals already appearing around her as she moved her eyes towards Klein, where he was struggling to reach Willow. Ruby had managed it before, she could do it again. </p><p>Klein blinked at the Huntress as she suddenly appeared beside him, opening his mouth to protest that she should be heading <em> out </em> of the house and not deeper inside to save them. However, deep in concentration she grabbed his arm and activated her Semblance and moved towards where Willow leaned against the collapsing banister of the staircase. </p><p>“What?” She tried to ask as both Ruby and Klein somehow appeared beside her, the butler looking rather disheveled from the unexpected transport. </p><p>“No time to explain!” Ruby answered, grabbing Willow’s and the butler’s arms again. She called upon her Semblance and manoeuvred across the destroyed entryway as Schnee Manor rained down around them. </p><p>“Mum! Klein!” Weiss called, running towards the three as they came to an unsteady stop on the manor’s front steps. Ruby panted from the exertion, still unaccustomed to travelling with so many passengers. Willow swayed on her feet as Weiss gently held her elbow, to steady her mother, remembering the sensation from her own recent journey via Ruby Travel.</p><p>“That was greatly unpleasant.” Klein blurted out, his eyes flashing blue, his face had turned an unpleasant shade of green. </p><p>“I know what you mean.” Blake agreed but her eyes never left the gardens, cursing internally. For a woman who literally could set herself on fire, she shouldn't have been this difficult to spot in the darkness unless, she didn’t dare hope, Cinder and her horrible pet had retreated and left them in peace. </p><p>“Where are Penny and Nora?” Ruby looked around the small group, her silver eyes begging to see her missing friends.</p><p>“They haven’t come out from this side.” Frantically pointed out Weiss, letting go of her mother as Willow, with a nod of her head, reassured her she was fine. </p><p>“I’m going back in for them!” Ruby wildly yelled out, taking a step towards the entrance, the interior obscured by the falling debris, the thunderous collapse intensifying. </p><p>“No.” Willow's calm but authoritative voice stopped the Huntress. “If you went in there now you’d only get trapped like the others.’</p><p>“But we can’t leave them in there!” desperately argued Ruby. Willow opened her mouth to argue further but was interrupted by a thunderous cascade of shattering glass from the side of the building that faced the garden. For a sickly moment Ruby thought it was a result of Cinder and the Hound reentering the failing building to retrieve the Maiden that had escaped them but, the feeling quickly vanished as Blake’s ears perked and she cried out. </p><p>“It’s Penny! And I think she’s got Nora!”</p><p>The small group ran through the darkness, cracks continued to appear across the manor’s facade, fire slowly pushing itself deeper into the building. Overhead, Salem’s Grimm had finally reached the manor but, as yet, all they did was fly wide circles above the ceilings.</p><p> The small group used the viridian light of Penny’s jets to guide them. The girl was hovering several feet above the ground, her torn dress fluttered in the cold wind as, carried in both her arms, was Nora, swaddled in blankets and still unconscious. Across Penny’s back they could just make out Nora's hammer, Magnhild. Penny was scanning the garden, her bright green eyes almost two distinct dots in the darkness. Ruby would have cried out in relief if she hadn’t seen what had caused the android to delay her descent, her expression hardened. From Penny’s small backpack, her blades began to emerge, creating an almost halo-like ring around her back, ready to address the incoming threat.</p><p>Cinder had reappeared, her composure reestablished as she hovered out of the darkness. Fire surrounded her eye as she raised her arm and, within its slender hold, a fiery spear began to form. </p><p>And just like that, the scene before Ruby flashed to another, equally as dark memory. The gardens faded to be replaced by the destroyed ruins of Beacon Tower. Cinder appeared before her, younger, both golden eyes surrounded in fire but she held the same deadly weapon in her hand, the same dark smile on her face.</p><p>Across from her, in Penny’s place, was Pyrrha Nikos, her golden armour gleamed in the destruction, her long crimson hair a stark contrast against the darkness, her kind face saddened at her inevitable defeat at the woman’s hands. </p><p>No!</p><p>Not again!</p><p>Ruby would not allow it to happen again!</p><p>She refused to let another friend fall at Cinder’s cruel hand!</p><p>The scene from the past faded, to be replaced by the present, as Penny hovered at the same height as Cinder, the unconscious Huntress cradled protectively in her arms. Her blades slowed in their rotation. Cinder extended her hand backwards, taking deadly aim.</p><p>“No!” Ruby shrieked as the spear left Cinder’s hand and Penny’s blades zoomed towards the enemy.</p><p>Ruby’s silver eyes began to glow, erupting in blinding white light that threatened to engulf them all to try save Penny from Cinder’s attack. However, before her light could reach the combatants, Ruby simultaneously felt someone shove her sideways just as a sharp, piercing pain spread down from the corner of her eye. Her concentration lost, the light faded and she felt fresh, warm blood dripping down her cheek. She blinked away the pain and looked down at Blake, whose shoulder was bleeding, her white jacket stained red with her own blood and her legs had given way. The petrified shadow of the hound loomed over the two of them.</p><p> Ruby’s eyes widened in realisation, a cold numb feeling filled her stomach as she realised that the Grimm had braved her attack to destroy her eyes and, it was only thanks to Blake’s intervention that she’d escaped with merely a scratch. It was with a hollow realisation that it dawned upon her that she’d almost lost her eyes. </p><p>“Penny!” Weiss' shrill cry cut through far more painfully than the Hound’s claws ever could, dread filled her at what had unfolded during the Grimm’s attack. She could not have looked away for more than a second but that was all it took for Penny and Cinder’s battle to come to an end. </p><p>Cinder cackled manically as a Griffon Grimm dissipated into dust before her, each of Penny’s blades falling to the frozen ground below as it did so. Above Cinder number of other avian Grimm circled, their untimely arrival at the mansion having rescued the woman from Penny’s attack. </p><p>However, Penny had had no such rescue. </p><p>Ruby looked at the protector of Mantle in horror, as Penny, very slowly, looked down at the spear that protruded through her chest and out her back. Miraculously it had missed Nora but that had been the only miracle Penny had been permitted.</p><p>The spear had found its mark, and it slowly burnt away her circuit from within. </p><p>The light of her eyes began to flicker, to fade and eventually to disappear completely.</p><p>“No!” Shrieked Ruby. </p><p>Not again! </p><p>They couldn’t lose Penny again!</p><p>Blake punched the ground, gritting her teeth against the pain of her shoulder. Tears ran down Weiss’s pale cheeks as she felt her mother’s hand on her arm. </p><p>The spear, with achingly slow speed began to dissipate into ash, it’s fragments almost beautiful in the dark night as they fluttered away, as if to reach the stars above. </p><p>Penny could not feel the pain but she could feel her circuits slowly being burnt away. Her vision was slowly dimming, the thrusters that kept her airborne had begun to splutter until, they too, were snuffed out of existence. Penny could feel her thoughts becoming more hazy, more difficult to maintain, and she began to fall to the ground. </p><p>“Finally!” Laughed Cinder cruelly, “The Winter Maiden’s power is mine!”</p><p>Penny had no energy to speak, her hearing vanished soon after that. However, even as her sensers faltered and she no longer could comprehend the fact that she was falling, she clutched Nora closer to her cold metal body and forced her body around. She held on to the unconscious woman as fiercely as her dying body would allow.</p><p>
  <em> I will keep you safe.  </em>
</p><p>Those were Penny’s final thoughts as the last of her Aura vanished and her back crashed into the ground below.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Please don't hate me! I absolutely love Penny but, with everything that's happened in this volume I just have a bad feeling... Thank so much for reading and hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. Feel free to drop a comment and next update will be on Tuesday :D</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Escape</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Hazel’s instructions to find the docking area were right on the mark and, by making careful use of Ren’s Semblance, the Huntsman, alongside Oscar, reached the landing bay with little difficulty though, to their dismay, the area was specifically guarded by a particularly large number of Seer Grimm. Salem knew that, if they were to escape, this was the only way out. In the docking bay a variety of different airships were parked, some Ren recognised to be models utilised by the specific kingdoms, others seemed far older, antiques that had long gathered dust from lack of use. Above the platform upon which the airships stood was a wide opening, the fresh air a welcome change, although the fire bathed city they saw through it was less so.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We can’t leave yet!” Oscar protested, as Ren carefully peered inside the bay, trying to deduce the ideal route the two could take to reach one of the airships. He’d faced these types of Grimm before, they weren’t easy to beat even if they weren’t particularly large and now they had numbers on their side. “Not without Jaune and Yang, they are in this mess because they came to rescue me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know.” Agreed Ren, turning to look down at the shorter boy. Although Oscar would never admit it for fear of further burdening his friends, the torture under Hazel’s hand had taken its toll, he could barely stand, let alone fight. But Oscar was a kind soul, who worried for his friends even when he was the one they should be worrying for. “I don’t know who these defectors are but I’ve got a hunch that those two may have had something to do with it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So what can we do?” Oscar asked, looking past Ren at the horde of Grimm that hovered between them and their escape.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We commandeer a ship.” Ren explained simply. “And we get ready to escape once they get here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But, how can you be certain they will make it here?” Oscar faltered as he looked up at the taller man, trying to read the expression on his face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because I have faith in my teammates.” Ren simply said. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ren’s faith was not misplaced. The former captives had barely boarded an Atlesian airship, having used Ren’s Tranquility to very carefully sneak past the guards, didn’t the sounds of battle being instigated warn them of the new arrivals. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I still don’t feel right about this.” Yang protested, as she punched her knuckles together, her gauntlets almost glowing as brightly as her hair as she jumped back, dodging the frenzy of spiked tentacles that greeted them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Neo rolled her eyes at the Huntress, raising the sharpened point of her umbrella and spinning gracefully on the ball of her feet, slicing a few of the Grimm’s tentacles with one smooth motion. She grimaced in disgust as they continued to contort even after being separated from their main body.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Look, if your friends escaped this is the only way out of here.” Emerald tried to explain through gritted teeth, trying to push back the fear that was swelling within her as she shot at the horrid creatures, her bullets leaving shallow dents in their ivory coloured armour.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why do I get the feeling that that was just an excuse to leave this place now that Salem knows you’ve taken the Relic?” Pointed out Jaune, digging his heels into the ground as one Grimm’s tentacles gripped his wrist, pulling him towards him. Jaune twisted his body, bending his arm and slicing at the tentacles with his sword. The Grimm gave off a series of irritated clicks as Jaune freed himself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“For the last time! We will not stab you in the back!” Emerald yelled in frustration, “I need you to take me to where Cinder is.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, so you keep saying.” Grumbled Yang, punching a Grimm whose shell cracked with a very satisfying sound.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Emerald made to respond but, during her moment of distraction, one of the Seer Grimm lashed out, its spear tip almost piercing her through the chest hadn’t Jaune run in front of her and blocked the attack with his shield.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“T-thank you.” Emerald panted, her heart racing from almost being impaled. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We won’t be able to hold out for Ren an Oscar for long!” He called to Yang, ignoring Emerald’s thanks.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yang knew that. They  had come to the landing base with the hope that, if Oscar and Ren had escaped they’d find their way here. But, the longer they waited the more of Salem’s Grimm were appearing and she had no idea how long it would be before Salem sent in the big guns.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Emerald!!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Not long at all. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yang mentally sighed as the thunderous call echoed out of the passage from which they had just emerged. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hazel!” Yelled Emerald, her attacks becoming more frantic.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’ve dealt with him before.” Yang declared. She could feel her blood rushing in her vessels, pumping her up for a fight.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We don’t have time for this!” Jaune warned her. “General Ironwood? Bomb? Remember?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well we aren’t leaving here without Ren and Oscar.” She declared, punching her gauntlets together as  Hazel finally appeared, numerous Dust crystals embedded in his skin, their glow creating veins across his limbs. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yang was right and Jaune never had any intention of leaving without his teammates. He’d rather be blasted into oblivion by a bomb than live with the death of another teammate on his conscience, another life he could have saved. But Yang had Ruby and the rest of her team waiting for her. She couldn’t be careless picking fights. And what of Nora? She’d kill them twice over if none of them returned!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A sharp whack on the head brought Jaune out of his thoughts. Panicked, thinking it was one of the Grimm attacking, he looked around for the source and his eyes narrowed in irritation as he saw Neo casually leaning on her umbrella.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I really don’t like you.” He hissed, remembering all the trouble she had caused at Atlas Academy when she’d stolen the Relic from his team. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Neo rolled her eyes, the feeling mutual. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>With a swift motion of her umbrella she pointed its gleaming tip to the side. Jaune’s eyes followed her movement, past the advancing Grimm to the more distant airships. Jaune wanted to snap that they weren’t going to leave without Ren and Oscar but his words died on his lips as he saw what Neo was actually pointing at. One of the airships, a silver Atlesian airship, was unsteadily rising off the ground.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yang!?” Jaune called as the airship, shakily, turned towards them revealing its pilot through the cockpit window, a rather beaten looking boy too young to have any form of licence. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A little busy here!” Yang called as she struggled against Hazel, who was slowly pushing the woman back with his supercharged strength. He was fuming, his eyes focused only on Emerald who was struggling to keep the Grimm at bay while constantly turning to look at Hazel</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Come at me!” Jaune called, raising his shield over his shoulder while, with his sword, he slashed at the advancing Grimm. Disembodied tentacles squirmed on the ground, slowly continuing to crawl towards him like oversized worms. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” She choked out as Hazel, with one of her hands gripped in one of his exceptionally large ones, lifted her off the ground and sent hier flying onto Emerald who did little to cushion her fall. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You children have any idea of who you’ve angered!” The man practically growled, stomping towards them like a one man stampede. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yang!” Jaune desperately called again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?!” Yang shouted back in annoyance, pushing herself off Emerald. Her eyes widened as she saw what Jaune had so desperately wanted to show her. An airship was hovering towards them. Although she couldn’t see who was piloting she could see who was standing in the passenger section, leaning against the open door, shooting bullets at the Grimm that were desperately reaching out and trying to grab at the airship’s wings.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ren!” Yang called, relief rejuvenating her energy.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hurry!” Ren called back, his long hair swaying in the winds generated by the airship.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I will not let you get away!” Hazel howled, charging at Yang. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Go!” Yang ordered Emerald, digging her heels into the ground and extending both her hands to stop his advance. </span>
</p><p>
  <span> Emerald didn’t protest as she turned her back on Yang and raced towards Jaune, jumping off his shield, she gripped the edge of the ship's opening and pulled herself to stand beside Ren.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are you doing here?!” Ren began, as Emerald stood and aimed one of her pistols at him. He almost pulled the trigger first but Emerald's shot was accompanied by a loud shattering sound. Ren turned to watch one of the Grimm that had almost managed to climb onto the ship begin to dissipate into dust. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Temporary alliance.” Emerald grunted, shooting at another of the Grimm as it tried to pull them down. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’ll explain later!” Yang panted, jumping up between the two as she knelt over the edge. She watched as Neo also ran towards Jaune and jumped from his shield as the others had but, instead of jumping into the ship, she gripped at the landing skids on the airship’s underside. With the skill of an acrobat, she manoeuvred herself so her legs were hooked around the metal bar and she extended her umbrella down towards Jaune who jumped and gripped its shaft, thankful that Neo had retracted its pointed end. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Get us out of here!” Jaune desperately called as he kicked away the Grimm, his grip slipping as Neo struggled to hold on with his weight. Without further delay the airship swung higher into the air towards the opening through which Atlas could be seen. The clicking of the Grimm intensified as they flew after their escaped convicts. Precariously knelt close to the edge, Yang extended her hand and, with a little swing from Neo, Jaune grabbed her hand and climbed into the ship.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can someone explain to me what is going on here?!” Ren asked, his voice rising, his eyes moving between Emerald, who was still shooting at the advancing Grimm, and Neo, as she elegantly climbed into the ship. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What is </span>
  <em>
    <span>she</span>
  </em>
  <span> doing here?” Ren hissed, pointing one of his pistols at Neo. The woman, blinked and, for a moment, her heterochromic eyes flashed aqua blue and she gestured with her hands under her eyes in a crying motion.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Temporary truce.” Jaune explained, standing between Ren and Neo, arms extended, before the usually calm man became less calm. He could understand Ren's dislike of their new arrivals but Neo specifically seemed to have riled him up. “Trust me, I don't like this either.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They are catching up with us!” Emerald yelled, still shooting at the Grimm, which followed them as they entered Atlas airspace. Hordes of monsters charged on the ground beneath them, Atlesian soldiers continued to fire but they had been pushed back towards the wall, which had been completely destroyed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m doing the best I can!” A voice called from the cockpit as the ship swivelled sideways, one of the Grimm springing forward and almost catching onto the ship’s wing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oscar!” Yang called, relieved. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Actually it’s professor Ozpin who is driving.” Ren tried to explain as he moved his weapons away from Neo and towards the cloud of Seer Grimm.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I feel we both have a lot of explaining to do.” Yang sighed, but her eyes softened as she put her hand on the taller man’s shoulder. “It’s good to know you're safe.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You and Jaune too.” Ren gave the Huntress a small smile. Neo rolled her eyes at the touching reunion and strode towards the cockpit where she sat in the copilot's seat and began to push a number of knobs and levers, causing the ship to zoom through the air even faster.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Calm yourself Oscar, I’m sure there’s a completely reasonable explanation why Neapolitan is sitting in the copilot seat</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Ozpin tried to reassure the boy as, internally, his thoughts were so severely panic stricken Ozpin almost lost control.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yang cursed under her breath as the Grimm continued to catch up, inching closer to the ship. None of them were remotely equipped for aerial combat. Yang gritted her teeth in frustration. Against all odds they had managed to rescue Oscar and retrieve the Relic only to be recaptured the minute they tasted freedom! </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Brace yourselves!” Yang called as she gripped the side of the ship, her violet eyes never leaving the Grimm as their tentacles scraped against the airship's tail.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yang! Jump!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yang blinked, half suspecting she’d imagined the voice. Their situation was desperate but not </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> desperate.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yang!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The huntress looked down, finally to find the actual source of the voice. Almost hidden in the shadow of their own airship was another ship, somehow keeping speed with them even though it was flying on its side. It's passenger hatch was open and, awkwardly holding on to the frame with her one good arm as her head poked out, was Winter Schnee. Her hair had come undone in the strong wind and she struggled to be heard over the relentless gales. On the other side was Elm, in much the similar state and, barely visible, surrounding both women's feet, was the golden glow of Vine’s Semblance as he tried to keep them in place. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yang didn’t hesitate in understanding Winter’s plan, the Grimm were so preoccupied by their ship they hadn’t even given Winter’s ship a second thought. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Jump!” Yang yelled over the thunderous winds. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you insane?!” Emerald shouted back, looking down at the woman who had caused Cinder so much grief.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’d rather be captured by Ironwood than Salem.” Yang reasoned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Only slightly though.” Sighed Jaune, strapping his sword to his side and his shield to his back as he too understood Winter’s plan.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You must be crazy!” Emerald shook her head, not only were they jumping into inevitable capture but, at the speed they were flying, the chances of actually landing in the other ship were extremely unlikely.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, we definitely won’t make you.” Jaune said. ”Just say hello to Salem for us.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>With that pleasant note Jaune looked down at Winter’s ship, gulped and muttered something about a landing strategy before jumping out of the ship. The fall was very short, though the wind whipped across his body, he landed inside Winter’s ship with a rather indignant sound, unable to land on his feet. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Step aside boy.” Vine ordered calmly. He was sitting strpped to one of the seets, his back to the ground below, a number of golden appendages surrounding his slim frame. “Your companions may not have as easy a landing.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’ve all lost your minds!” Emerald called as she watched Jaune vanish from view deeper into the other ship.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Like we said, no one is making you come with us.” Ren snapped, after returning from the cockpit with Oscar. Neo silently followed him, having set the ship on autopilot so it could steer itself for a while, though the Grimm would catch it before it made any real progress.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oscar?” Yang carefully asked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Back at the wheel.” The boy replied sheepishly, looking down at Winter below.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Think you can make it?” Ren asked, concerned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Trust me, this wouldn’t be the craziest height I’ve fallen.” The boy admitted, before jumping over the edge. Elm extended her hands outwards, grabbing Oscar as he narrowly fell past their ship, Harriet and Marrow, who were at the wheel were finding it difficult to keep their ship steady while also flying sideways. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There you go.” Elm grunted, pulling Oscar over the edge. He stumbled in, Jaune helped to steady him as he pulled him away from the entrance, just as Ren followed in, landing far more elegantly than the other two had. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yang’s ship jerked backwards, as, finally the Grimm had caught their tail and was slowly hindering their movement forwards, the jets began to groan against the forces that held them back. Neo shrugged, holstering her umbrella and walking towards the edge, her hair turned black as she walked passed the remaining occupants, her attire changing to one more plain, her dark eye turning pink to better match her other one. She silently saluted Emerald, Torchwick’s hat pressed to her chest, before jumping, landing between Elm and Winter with a little flourish. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yang looked at emerald, the other girl’s eyes wide as she looked between Winter’s ship and the Grimm.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You better decide, now!” Yang yelled, standing up and using the door frame to steady herself. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Emerald looked between Yang, the Grimm and the Ace Ops below. She swore under her breath. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>How could getting to Cinder be <em>this</em> hard?</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thanks so much for reading! I'm sorry if this came out a little like a filler (mentally I was screaming at them to escape faster!) but I hope you still enjoyed the chapter. Feel free to drop a comment and next update will be Friday :D</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Succession</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The very air was silent, mourning the loss, not only of the Protector of Mantle but the loss of a friend and daughter. The air stood still, not wishing to disturb the grievers, as sorrow anchored itself within their very souls. The devastation of losing Penny Polendina froze the small group, as if time itself had stopped, each one praying to the gods, that had long abandoned Remnant, that this was some cruel joke induced by their exhausted minds. Penny would rise, dust off the ash from her dress and turn to her friends with a smile so bright that it would put the sun and stars to shame. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But Penny did not rise.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Penny did not move. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Although it may have felt to the Huntresses that time had halted, the circle of life continued, unhindered by their incapacitating grief, as did the succession of the Maiden. The Winter Maiden had fallen and, as had been done for innumerable generations prior, another must rise to replace her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It began as a simple breeze that surrounded the android, her unmoving body still clutched Nora’s unconscious one as if, even in death, her metal frame would continue to protect her. This breeze continued to pick up, increasing in force until it became wind and, eventually, became a gale, sweeping with it a sphere of grey cloud and snow that obscured the pair from view. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cinder snickered, extending her arms on either side of her in hungry anticipation. She could sense the power of the Maiden in the air. It sent shivers down her spine as she felt it caress her skin. This power... it was hers. It would finally be all hers. No longer would she be teased with little samples, the real meal pulled just out of reach. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oh the beauty of murder! It almost certainly guaranteed that the fallen’s final thoughts would be on those who had cut the thread of their life. To Cinder, Penny would simply become another voice that cursed at her continual survival and would soon merge with the others she’d mercilessly taken. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But, although Penny Polendina was built of metal and circuits, at her core, she was the best mankind could ever dream to be.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Penny’s final thoughts had not been of spite and anger at the woman that had severed the life she loved so dearly, but they had been on protecting a friend, not simply because it was in her programming, but because she was Penny. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Penny!?” A voice erupted from the icey orb, causing Ruby to jump. She half hoped it was Penny’s voice but no… it was familiar but in a different way. Weiss gasped, her eyes widening as both her hands rose to her mouth in disbelief, was it possible? Her pale blue eyes tentatively moved from the disappearing orb, to Blake and then to Ruby, silently asking the question all three had been asking. They knew whose voice this was of. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The next Winter Maiden had been chosen however it was not Cinder Fall, a fact the latter was slowly, and painfully, becoming aware of. The sphere of ice and cloud began to fade as the winds died out to reveal a young woman sitting up, Penny’s head cradled on her lap, the android’s eyes dim and unseeing, looked upon her scarred face. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Penny?!” The girl begged, her body heaving as she shook her head, finally raising it to look upon her silent audience. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What happened to Penny?!” Nora cried, her eyes wide in confusion, begging for answers and surrounded by bright blue flame. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>A mixture of conflicting emotions swelled within Ruby and her teammates, Penny’s death had barely been registered, each one still silently hoping that it wasn’t so. This heartbreaking emotion, however, was a sharp contrast to the relief that spread across their bodies at seeing that Nora Valkyrie had finally regained consciousness. Though, the meaning of the light that erupted from her aqua eyes weighed heavily on the Huntresses and it filled Cinder Fall with indescribable rage. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thief!” Cinder shrieked, her eyes ablaze with unrestrained anger. That power was meant for </span>
  <em>
    <span>her</span>
  </em>
  <span>! It had been promised to </span>
  <em>
    <span>her</span>
  </em>
  <span>! It would not be snatched from her by anyone! Especially not by some nobody Huntress! “The Winter Maiden’s power is mine!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>In a furore of anger and fire, the Fall Maiden flew towards Nora, who seemed to finally notice Cinder, pulling herself out of the daze that had blanketed her mind. With surprising gentleness, Nora placed Penny’s still body on the ground and carefully stood, retrieving her hammer as she did so. She gripped it in both her hands, her muscles felt stiff, the bandages that covered her body hindered her movement as she stood over her friend's body, daring the murderess to even try to come close to them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nora stood amidst the snow and shattered glass, her scars gleamed in the fire Cinder created as she continued to charge at her. Nora raised her hammer over her shoulder and, with inhuman speed, swung it, the hard metal coming in contact with Cinder’s burning body. The woman was sent crashing into the side of Schnee Manor and she vanished through the hole she created. A cascade of destruction continued for some time after, indicating that the Fall Maiden had been sent through a number of rooms. Somewhere along the way, one of the support beams gave way, triggering the collapse of one of the upper floors and caused an explosion of dust to erupt from the hole and shattered windows. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can someone </span>
  <em>
    <span>please</span>
  </em>
  <span> explain what’s going on?” Nora begged, allowing the head of her hammer to rest against the ground as she turned her attention away from the destruction she’d created to her companions, who were gawking at the scene that had unfolded before them. If they hadn’t just seen it with their own eyes they may not have believed it were true. “And where are my clothes?!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nora’s question seemed to finally snap the group back to their senses.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nora!” Weiss almost crushed her under the force of the hug she gave Nora, surprising the Huntress who had always thought the Ice Princess tolerated her only due to being a member of Jaune’s team.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You really had us worried!” Blake gave Nora a relieved smile.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So it seems.” Nora choked out, barely able to breath until Weiss finally released her, blushing slightly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Although Ruby tried to find it in her to smile at her friend and her miraculous recovery, her spirit dampened as she knelt beside Penny, a charred opening though her chest had singed the material and skin black around it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“W-what happened?” Nora quietly asked, looking at Weiss for answers, the last thing Nora remembered was that they had been trying to save Penny from the Ace Ops, had they been too late? But that wouldn’t explain what Cinder was doing here. And where was ‘here’? Schnee Manor? And why were the Grimm, which were circling overhead, not attacking?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Before anyone could answer her however, a ferocious scream caused what remained of Schnee Manor to quiver, fire and hot air exploded from every opening. Klein pushed Willow and Whitley behind him as, from the fiery inferno that engulfed their home, a dark shadow appeared. Nora raised her hammer over her shoulder once again, closely followed by Ruby and Blake, who extended their own weapons ready to protect the unarmed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cinder walked out of the fire, far calmer than how she had entered, as if Nora’s hammer may have knocked some sanity back into her. She took a step out of the house, her cape fluttering in the hot air that had caused the surrounding snow to melt. She looked from one Huntress to the next, her glowing eyes stopping on Nora.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I will take what is mine.” Cinder declared, her voice scarily low.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nora’s grip tightened on her hammer, why did she get the impression this maniac wanted something from her, specifically? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’ll have to go through all of us.” Blake hissed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You will pay for what you did to Penny.” The warning in Ruby’s voice was undeniable. Cinder simply laughed at their words.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There are less of you then before and you think you can beat me?” Cinder tried to hold back her laughter at the notion but, her expression darkened as one of the Grimm landed before her. A large Nevermore, its ebony plumage gleamed in the firelight.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” She ordered in irritation at being interrupted. The Nevermore squawked in response and scratched at the ground. With its long black beak it pointed towards the Hound, where it stood petrified and casting large shadows against the melting ice. The Nevermore then moved its head towards a more distant location, Monstra.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I am not leaving without the Winter Maiden’s power.” Cinder tried to explain with faux calm. “You can tell Salem I will have it soon.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Nevermore let out a blood curdling screech and it opened its wings, making it look much larger. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I will return to Salem when I’m done here.” Cinder stated, looking away from the Nevermore and taking a step towards Ruby’s group. The Nevermore squawked again and flapped its wings, lifting itself off the ground as the remaining two Nevermore that had been watching from above swooped down but, rather than attack the Huntresses, with their razor sharp claws they grabbed Cinder and pulled her into the air. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey!” She protested, struggling against their hold, her eyes glowed at the indignant manner with which the Grimm were treating her. However, as Ruby and her companions began to appear more distant, just mere silhouettes against the fire engulfed manor, Cinder knew better than to fight Salem’s creatures, insubordination would not be forgiven a second time. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nora’s eyes continued to follow Cinder until she was nothing more than a small speck of light moving steadily towards the titanic Grimm. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Am I the only one who has no idea what just happened?” She asked, eventually lowering her hammer to look at her friends who had also begun to put away their own weapons. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“General Ironwood must be causing Salem some trouble.” Blake speculated her golden eyes following Cinder and the Grimm. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ruby retracted her scythe and knelt to the ground once again, unable to look away from her fallen friend. The pain of her loss washed over her anew, tears she had forced back in their enemy’s presence threatened to spill. Weiss knelt beside her and placed a tender hand on her leader’s shoulder, her own eyes gleamed with unshed tears. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What happened?” Nora asked in a quiet voice, her shoulders slumped.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We came to my home to escape the Ace Ops.” Weiss calmly explained, looking up at the Huntress. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You were seriously injured trying to free us so we came here to recover.” Carefully added Blake, not wanting to overwhelm Nora with too much information. The woman had been inflicted with wounds that, had they been received by anyone else, would have been fatal and, even then, her apparent recovery could only be described as miraculous. “Penny went to Amenity Colosseum and she got our message to the other kingdoms.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“T-that’s a good thing, right?” Nora asked, but, as she looked upon the familiar faces of her friends, she saw that weariness had cast deep shadows upon them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No help has come so far.” Weiss sighed, how long had it been? A couple of hours? They couldn’t expect the other kingdoms to rally reinforcements in such a short time but there, on the front lines, it felt like an eternity. “We don’t entirely know what happened after that but Penny crashed here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s when Cinder and one of Salem’s Grimm attacked…” Ruby finally spoke, her voice strained and broken, forcing her tears back, barely able to say her next words. “She... killed Penny”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That…” Nora bit her tongue. Although she had many very colourful and original names for that woman she believed none of them were appropriate to be said in front of Weiss’s younger brother. Fury filled her every fibre, as if they were coursing with electricity. She clenched her hammer so tightly her knuckles whitened and her palms almost bled. That monster had taken Pyrrha from them, and now Penny. She’d disposed of them as if they were nothing more than one of her little flames that she no longer needed. To step on others and snuff them out with such little remorse… Cinder Fall was too much of a monster to be called a human. Nora took a shaky breath, trying to control her anger before asking.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did Cinder get the Winter Maiden’s power?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A pregnant pause fell between the three Huntresses, was it possible Nora did not know?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Guys?” Nora asked awkwardly, as none chose to answer. “You’re making me nervous…” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Before she died, Penny had flown into the mansion to save you…” Weiss began, carefully saying each word. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The Winter Maiden’s power went to you.” Ruby bluntly finished, her mouth dry, her voice sounded like sandpaper against her own ears. She had not intended to sound so rude, in no way did Ruby blame Nora for what had happened to Penny. In an ideal world, both would have survived but, as Ruby was painfully aware, Remnant was far from a perfect world. The more Ruby wished to explain, the more her words eluded her, grief stringing only the simplest and crudest of phrases.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nora’s eyes widened at Ruby’s words and with the realisation of what they meant. She wanted to deny it, to claim this had to be some joke. However, as she looked down at Ruby, her crystalline eyes meeting Ruby’s silver ones, she knew her friends had no reason to lie to her. Nora fell to her knees, unrestrained tears streaming down her pale face. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Penny had died to save her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was her fault Penny had...</span>
</p><p>
  <span>If she weren’t so useless she wouldn’t have needed to be saved and Penny would…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She had only recovered because... </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No…” Nora whispered looking across to Ruby.  “I don’t want the Maiden’s power!” Her injured body was wracked with sobs as she gripped Penny’s hand in her own. It should have been cold but it felt comfortable to her touch. “Penny’s the Winter Maiden… Take it back! Penny take it back and wake up please! This power is Penny’s not mine! Please!” She hiccuped. “Take it back Penny and come back to us.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her cries echoed across the once beautiful grounds of Schnee Manor, to be drowned out by the thunderous inferno that engulfed the manor.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What if we find Pietro?” Nora asked, desperately trying to blink away her tears and tried to think past her guilt at being the cause of the loss of the scientist’s daughter. “What if he brings her back like last time?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ruby shook her head, remembering the conversation she’d had with the man before things had gone so out of control. “H-he said he doesn’t have enough…” Ruby let out a shaky breath, why was it so hard talk?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He told us he doesn’t have enough Aura to get her back again.” Blake explained, aiding her friend where her own words had failed her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No!” Nora cried, shaking her head, her tears almost freezing as they ran down her cheek, her eyes glowed slightly as her emotions fuelled her new power. “Pyrrha died because I was too weak to help her, I-I can’t… not again…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Their hearts went out to Nora, their own journeys had been far from easy but, somehow, against all odds, they had all made it through. But Nora had lost a member of her beloved team and, unlike Penny, there was no chance of her ever coming back. In all the years they’d known Nora, she’d always been the high energy optimist, a strength when their own needed a little help. But Nora was also human and humans, bent far enough, can be broken. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What will you do now?” Willow’s calm voice finally asked the question all had been avoiding. Every decision that had been made had done little to help in their fight against Salem. They’d risked their lives to call for help that had yet to arrive and had lost the Kingdom its stronger defender. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We could go help Mantle?” Blake suggested. “Find Yang and the others and help the people we can.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Atlas has the Ace Ops” Weiss agreed. “Atlas has plenty of skilled Huntsmen to protect it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why don’t you just stay with us?” Whitley piped in, walking passed his mother. “Weiss, what difference will four very exhausted Huntresses do against that?!” And, with a broad motion, he pointed at Monstra.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Whitey!” Klein exclaimed but Willow silenced the butler by placing a delicate hand on her son’s shoulder, who lowered his head, unable to look at his sister in the eyes after seeing the pain his words had caused her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Whitley’s just worried about you.” Willow explained, “We all are. We’ve witnessed first hand the strength of the foes you have been fighting.” The woman sighed, her face illuminated by the warm light that burnt away at her home. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Weiss gave her brother a small, understanding smile. “Four huntresses were enough to save our little family, even if the odds aren’t in our favour, if we can save even a single person…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“W-what if we were able to save the right person?... ” Ruby’s hoarse voice was barely audible as she looked between her three remaining teammates. “And that person could save so many more?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What do you mean, Ruby?” Blake carefully asked, unsure if she’d understood her right. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Penny.” Ruby tried to explain. “Alone she could take down more Grimm than us, save more people than we ever could.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But Pietro said…” Began Weiss.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know, Pietro can’t generate enough Aura to get her back.” Ruby quickly piped in, her thoughts racing as pieces of her plan began to fall, somewhat, into place. “But what if we had something else that could make Aura?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If you're suggesting Jaune…” But Ruby shook her head at Nora’s suggestion, they had no idea how this Aura thing worked, how much was needed or what effect it could have on Juane. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then Ruby, what are you trying to say?” Weiss sighed, they were all too exhausted to be thinking straight. “We make Penny some Aura?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying.” Ruby declared, feeling braver the more she spoke, her conviction unflinching. “Using the Relic of Creation.”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>And another chapter done and, even better news, RWBY hiatus will officially be over for everyone this weekend! Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed the update. Next one will be posted on Tuesday and feel free to drop a comment. Thanks again for reading :D</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Bomb</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“Although I acknowledge that you apprehended the fugitives, you disobeyed a direct order, Specialist Schnee.” General Ironwood stood before the wall of monitors, their almost blinding light darkening his form as he looked at Winter. His hands were crossed behind his back, his eyes cold as he surveyed the woman who stood at attention before him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I am aware, Sir.” Winter agreed, standing up straight, both her arms pressed against her sides. “However Arc and his team acquired adequate information on Salem’s base to more efficiently position the bomb. '' Winter's voice was formal as she addressed the general, as was expected when speaking to one of a higher rank.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, if their information is reliable it will prove invaluable.”  The general sternly corrected.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I do not believe they would lie about this, sir.” Winter carefully answered, not wishing to upset the man further. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They are fugitives!” General Ironwood growled, his voice rising slightly as a hand was slammed against the control panel before him, however Winter didn’t flinch at his outburst, the anger of men did not scare her. “That convinced you to release them on the claim that they’d return after rescuing Oscar.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And, as promised, they are back in our custody.” Winter replied, her voice calm and even. “Along with the Relic and one of Salem’s subordinates, Neapolitan.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“According to some reports, you only recaptured them as your ship was their sole means of escape from Salem’s forces.” The general observed, recalling the words of one of the Ace Ops.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We coordinated their rescue, yes, but we have no proof we intercepted an escape.” Winter explained, narrowing her eyes slightly at the older man, politely challenging his claims.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>General Ironwood leaned on the panel a little longer, neither wishing to be the first to give in, before standing and clearing his throat, regaining his composure.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You have been nothing but a loyal soldier, Winter.” He admitted, remembering the young Huntress he’d recruited straight out of the Academy just over five years before, so eager to prove herself and break away from her family’s mould. “I’ll let it slide this time but, be careful, your family has already produced two fugitives, I’d hate to have to arrest another.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Understood.” Winter agreed, not needing the general to elaborate his threat any further as one of the lights on the panel began to flicker, indicating that someone wished to contact him. Ironwood gestured for Winter to remain as he answered the call, even given everything he’d just scolded her about, she was still one of his most trusted subordinates and privy to certain information.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Dr Cini, how is construction of the bomb coming?” Dr Cini- Winter knew that name, a woman from the Science and Development department, most likely the new head now that Pietro was a fugitive on the run. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If Dr Watts’ schematics are accurate, it should be ready for deployment within the hour.” The disembodied voice explained, her voice clear and crisp.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Excellent work.” Praised General Ironwood, calm and normalcy returning to his voice. “We will continue with the evacuation as discussed then. “</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Evacuation?” Winter asked as the light flickered off, indicating that the scientist had hung up. “You said nothing of the bomb being from one of Watts’ designs. Most were categorised as too inhumane to be used in warfare.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Winter, must I remind you we are not facing only humans?” Ironwood observed, as, on the screen behind him, scenes of monstrous chaos were being shown- destruction, death, loss, the entities upon which Salem thrived on.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The citizens aren’t being evacuated just because of the Grimm attack, are they?” Carefully enquired Winter.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ironwood sighed, Winter was both perceptive and intuitive. Although he beat her in both rank and seniority, he was not certain he’d outmatch her there. “The scientists estimate that the blast radius of the bomb will engulf all of Atlas.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And Mantle? Have you begun evacuation there?” Winter was struggling to keep her voice level. She wished she could believe that this was some sick drill, that the man she had admired so fervently that she’d shunned her own family for, was not suggesting what she feared he was. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We don’t have the resources to spare, but our people on the ground report that the citizens are taking refuge in the mines. The blast shouldn’t reach that deep underground.” There was little reassurance in his voice, deep down Winter wondered if the general believed his own words, or if he simply wished so strongly for it to be true that he’d warped reality so.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But if Atlas falls on Mantle, they’ll be buried alive!” Winter tried to protest, her voice rising slightly in agitation.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mind your tone, Specialist Schnee!” Ironwood warned. “If that explosion destroys Salem’s monsters and the witch in the process I’ll take the full burden of their deaths.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“At what cost?” She whispered, shaking her head. “Your humanity and the lives of thousands of innocent people?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sometimes one must become a monster to fight a monster.” Ironwood admitted solemnly, “If it rids Remnant from Salem...then yes.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Winter took a step back, visibly shaken by the man’s outburst and, for a moment, General Ironwood saw fear in his subordinate’s eyes, but it was not one induced by Salem's name but one instilled in her by himself. He had never been one to promote obedience through fear and this realisation brought to the surface, momentarily, the man Winter once knew, a younger and kinder man, one plagued with far less sorrows than he who had been addressing her before.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Take some time to contact your family, Winter.” Ironwood gently said, his eyes softening. “Make sure they have safely evacuated Atlas.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is that an order, sir?” Winter enquired formally, her light eyes still slightly narrowed at the man. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, it's a suggestion given by a friend.” He tried for a smile that came across more sad than comforting.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Very well, sir.” Winter saluted, unlike the general she did not allow herself to delve into familiarity. “I shall take my leave then.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Very well then, Specialist Schnee.” General Ironwood turned his back on the woman, his full and undivided focus going to the screens and the destruction they portrayed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He would end this, here, on Atlesian land, even if it cost him his own life.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>“Uncle Qrow!” Yang almost ran towards the imprisoned man hadn’t Elm been holding her back. Her weapons had been confiscated and her arms tied behind her back, making it impossible to resist the larger women's grip.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yang?!” Qrow called, leaning as close to the cell wall as he could as he watched the rest of the Ace Ops file in with the new arrivals. Ren was calmly being led in by Vine, alongside Marrow who led in Jaune. Taking up the rear, struggling the most fiercely, was Neo, who was desperately trying to escape Harriet’s hold. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yang struggled against Elm’s restraints but, without being able to use her Semblance or her weapons, she could do nothing to free herself. Elm, not so gently, pushed her into a cell across from her uncle, walls of electricity almost instantly erecting themselves around her as she stumbled in. Jaune and the other captives were placed in the remaining empty cells, encircled by similar, pulsating walls.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I wouldn’t touch that if I were you.” Robyn warned, as Neo, who was occupying the cell nearest hers, tentatively extended a hand towards the blue, humming walls of her prison. “They pack a punch strong enough to knock out a person twice your size.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Neo pulled her hand back, nodding her head in silent understanding though she didn’t quite like the woman’s comment about her height. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Where have you taken Oscar?!” Jaune yelled, holding back the urge to slam his fist against his prison wall, he’d be foolish to do so after hearing Robyn’s warning. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It's none of your business.” Snarled Harriet, pacing before the new arrivals, pleased with their haul. Although she was itching to return to the field and retrieve who remained of their little group, namely their ringleader, Ruby, and the traitor, Penny, she’d savour this victory for now.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’s in the medical bay.” Marrow piped in, earning him a disbelieving look from Harriet. “Although you treated him with your Semblance, he’s getting a medical check just in case.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh! That’s very kind of you.” Sarcastically commented Yang.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey Blondy, be grateful that we treat you so humanly.” Harriet snapped, walking up to Yang's prison and staring her down the best way the shorter girl could.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Harriet, just let it go.” Marrow suggested tiredly, as he stood alongside the other Ace Ops, surveying the small group, most nothing more than children, that had been collected in their prison with mixed feelings. Some of their captives undoubtedly belonged in prison here but some of the others, his resolve was wavering.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet turned her back on Yang and made for where the other Ace Ops were waiting for her at the door </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Contact us if the prisoners do </span>
  <em>
    <span>anything</span>
  </em>
  <span> suspicious.” Ordered Harriet to the two soldiers that were standing guard inside the prison. “They breathe funny and you call us </span>
  <em>
    <span>immediately</span>
  </em>
  <span>, understand?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>No one had ever escaped from General Ironwood’s prison, most Semblances were useless against the electronic walls that were miniature versions of the one that kept Grimm at bay. However, this lot of young Huntresses and Huntsmen, although it pained Harriet to say so, had bested the Ace Ops time and time again. Her paranoia was not misplaced, not until they’d caught what remained of their tedious cohorts and rid Atlas of this Grimm threat.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The guards saluted their understanding and the door slid closed after the Huntress.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’ve no idea how happy I am to see you kids are safe and in one piece.” Qrow let out a relieved breath as he looked at his niece. Although Robyn may have believed he was simply brooding over Clover’s death, he had also been worried about his nieces and their friends. “Most of you anyway.” That last comment was directed to Neo, who waved mockingly at the man.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Back at you uncle Qrow.” Yang smiled at her uncle, walking as close to her cell wall as she dared.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But what of the rest of you? Were they also captured?” Robyn rose from where she was sitting to better address the new arrivals.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We don’t know.” Jaune admitted. “We split up a while back and our Scrolls were confiscated, so we don’t know what’s happened to the others.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They’re a tough and stubborn lot, they’ll be ok.” Robyn declared, remembering the Huntresses in question from the few times she’d met them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But, if you’ve been unable to contact them, they have no way of knowing you are here.” Watts’ leering voice suddenly filled the air. “Meaning you’ve been captured without a plan of escape.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“First off, if we escape you would not be included in it.” Ren began, crossing his arms as the doctor rolled his eyes at the youth.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Or you.” Added Jaune, addressing that last comment at Jacques Schnee, who was sitting on his little bed looking especially irritated.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Secondly,” Yang put a finger to her mouth and winked at Qrow and Robyn who looked at her in confusion.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The prisoners waited in silence, pacing their small cells.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yang, I don’t want to rush you but if you’ve got a plan to get out of here, we’re waiting.” Qrow hissed in a low voice so that Yang alone could hear him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We were hoping to wait until they bring back Oscar.” Yang whispered back, as one of the guards walked away from the door towards her cell, most likely to silence the scheming pair. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey!” The guard called, his face obscured by his helmet. But, before he could continue to tell the pair off, a woman landed behind him, and flipped him over her shoulder, twisting the weapon out of his hand and knocking him out with a good kick. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What the-” The other guard exclaimed, pointing her weapon to where her companion had fallen only to find herself with the same fate.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Emerald!” Yang scolded as the woman strode up to her cell. “I </span>
  <em>
    <span>just</span>
  </em>
  <span> said we have to wait for Oscar!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well I got tired of waiting, I need to find Cinder, now!” Emerald protested, folding her arms in irritation.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Could someone </span>
  <em>
    <span>please</span>
  </em>
  <span> explain what's going on here?” Robyn looked between the two women, certain she’d never seen the green haired girl before.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I’d also like to know.” Qrow growled, “Yang are you working with Salem’s string bean?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“String bean!?” Emerald yelled, furious at the comment, her weapons gleaming menacingly in the artificial light. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Temporary alliance.” Yang sighed, still unable to wrap her head around the idea that Cinder’s lackey was actually their only way out. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Intriguing, I thought you could only cast your Semblance on one person at a time.” Watts curiously wondered. “But to have made it this far, uncought, you must have deceived multiple people at the same time.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Was Emerald’s vague response. Her many hours spent honing her Semblance had finally produced fruit, now, although it tired her out, she could cast an illusion and affect a number of people, a small number true, but it had been enough to get her this far. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Salem will not be happy with this deceit.” Watts sang, placing his chin on his head and looked at Emerald.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You still should have waited!” Yang rolled her eyes at Emerald, they’d made a plan and Emerald had just destroyed it with her impatience.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can still just leave you in there.” Emerald mocked, enjoying the feeling of being able to toy with Ruby’s irritating friends.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You still can’t open for us!” Jaune sighed, massaging his brow. “You don’t have the keys! The Ace Ops have them.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Emerald’s eyes widened as the realisation of her mistake sunk in. She’d given away her presence and was nowhere closer to freeing the prisoners thus meaning nowhere closer to reaching Cinder.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I may not have a key.” A cool voice said, accompanied by the sound of the main door opening and closing. “But I do have the keycode.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Winter!?’ Jacques gasped, as he saw his daughter walk in, Oscar stood beside her, his hands loosely tied before him and followed by Marrow, who was looking at the collapsed guards in surprise, most likely wondering if he’d chosen the right side.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are you doing here?” Qrow grumpily called, crossing his arms as he looked at the irritating woman.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“To get you out.” Winter declared, surprising the older man into silence. “And to stop General Ironwood before he destroys all of Atlas and Mantle.”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thanks so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed the newest update! Feel free to drop a review and new chapter should be out Friday :D</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0015"><h2>15. Vault</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Penny! My sweet sweet girl!” Pietro's echoing cries shattered Maria’s old heart. Maria and Pietro had had no choice but to remain on Amenity Colosseum after their confrontation with Cinder and her lacky, neither one knowing what had become of Penny. They’d prayed she was ok, that she’d won her battle and was simply a little too banged to return to them. However their prayers had not been answered. They had been already weary before the Atlesian airship had come onto their sensors.</p><p>Maria and Pietro had been pleasantly surprised, however, when they’d discovered that the small group inside were, simply put, a mother, son and butler.</p><p>“Maria Calavera? Pietro Polendina?” The woman had asked as she looked, cautiously, between the two. </p><p>“Depends on who wants to know.” Maria had narrowed her eyes, her goggles simply becoming bright blue slits against her old, wrinkled face. </p><p>“Willow and Whitley Schnee.” The woman had introduced, gesturing to herself and the young boy. “And this Klein.”</p><p>“Schnee?” Pietro had repeated, and Willow had flinched as he did so. As of late her family name, which she had been so proud of as a child, had become associated with a number of unlawful activities.</p><p>“You must be related to Weiss.” Maria had smiled, lowering her walking stick which she had pointed at the new arrivals. “Even with my bad eyes … the resemblance is uncanny.”</p><p>“Y-yes!” Willow answered, taken aback at being recognised as Weiss’s mother rather than the previous Schnee Company heiress. “They gave us the coordinates to where to find you.”</p><p>“Those girls, they’ll keep fighting till their dying breath.” Maria had shaken her head at her own words. It had been a long day, and dawn was still several hours away but, if they had not accompanied Willow here, she had no doubt they were fighting on the ground, protecting citizens to the best of their abilities. Maria, as she’d grown greyer, had always complained that the Huntresses and Huntsman being practically mass produced by the academies were of  a lower caliber than those that had graduated in her day but, after traveling with Ruby and her friends, she’d come to rethink that notion. </p><p>“It’s funny for you to use those words, exactly…” Whitley began, but had been silenced by stern looks by both the adults. </p><p>“What happened?” Maria carefully enquired, the youth’s words had not been lost on her. So, it was with a heavy heart that Willow Schnee had explained the events that had unfolded at her home, why the Huntresses had not joined them, and who had remained on the airship. </p><p>“Penny! My sweet sweet girl!” Pietro cried when he’d finally been allowed into the airship to see his daughter’s body.</p><p> Prior to splitting up they had had no choice but to leave Schnee manor, the fire had grown beyond their control and they did the only thing they could think of- they let it be. For the Huntresses it was easy enough for them to decide where to look for the Relic, it was another thing to actually find it. May had taken the airship with which the small group had initially come to Schnee Manor with but, if there was something Jacques had always enjoyed doing, and that was flaunting to the world how much money he possessed. This had, at one point or another, manifested into a number of vehicles he’d rarely used, one of which was their own private airship. A far sleeker and more aesthetically pleasing version of what the army used, but far less practical for aerial combat. However, it got them to where they had to go and that was Amity Colosseum. Although the coordinates had somewhat varied from what had been given to them, the soft glow of the gravity Dust nestled amongst the dark clouds served as their beacon and had led them to where Pietro and Maria had been stranded, cut off from the outside world.</p><p>Pietro’s cries reverberated around the enclosed space. He leaned forwards as he held his daughter’s cold hand within his own. He would have fallen forwards and out of his chair countless times had Maria, with Klein’s help, not held him back.</p><p>“They told me to tell you they are going to get her back.” Willow explained in a small voice. The man looked up at her, with swollen and red eyes.</p><p>“T-that’s i-impossible.” Pietro tried to say between deep breaths. “I do not have enough Aura to get her back.”</p><p>“They said something about making more… using something called the Relic of Creation?” Willow explained but shook her head. “I’m sorry, I don’t fully understand myself.”</p><p>“Relic of Creation? You mean one of those knick knacks that that blue lady told us about?!” Maria 's eyes widened in surprise though, of course, no one present could agree or disagree with her statement. </p><p>“So it might be possible? They could really get my little girl back?” The pained and pleading look Pietro gave Maria tugged at her heartstrings, never had she seen her friend this distraught.</p><p>“I've only seen one of the Relics work.” She explained, recalling the memory, the sense of confusion at being dragged into something that had been none of her business. “I can’t explain it… the only way to describe the Relics is that they possess a magic that makes the impossible seem possible.”</p><p>Like portraying events from eons in the past. </p><p>Or even possibly bringing someone back from the dead?</p><hr/><p>“Guys?” Blake’s voice caused the small group to jump, their weapons pointed in every direction. </p><p>“Blake!” Weiss hissed, putting away her sword which she’d somehow been able to retrieve from the wreckage of the destroyed toolshed. “Did you want to give us all a heart attack?” </p><p>“I mean, I know Salem’s attacking outside but I doubt Ironwood would leave the academy and Vault unprotected, right?” Blake whispered, ignoring her friend’s accusation. </p><p>She was right. After they’d parted ways with Willow and the rest they’d used Jacques’ very expensive motorbikes to get to Atlas Academy which was at the foot of the hill upon which Schnee manor was burning upon. </p><p>Up close the destruction of Atlas had been far more hideous than they’d anticipated. The Grimm that prowled the earth had not reached that deep into the city, but the flying Grimm had paved the way of destruction for them quite adequately. Buildings were destroyed beyond recognition, rubble and debris all that remained of an old life. And the bodies... Ruby struggled to look away from the ravaged bodies of humans and faunus alike that littered the ground like discarded dolls. Blood and gore covered their path and brought with it unpleasant memories of the fall of Beacon, so many lives had been lost that day as well. But, this time would be different, they would bring back the Huntress that could protect them. </p><p>Atlas Academy, thus far, seemed unaffected by the attack and, although the main door had been locked, something Nora’s hammer had quickly fixed, they found little else in terms of resistance and security. Oscar had confided in the small group, after they’d found him, where the Vault of Atlas Academy was situated, in the off chance that Salem acquired the means with which to collect the Relic. Little had he expected that it would be Ruby herself that would be retrieving the artifact. </p><p>Atlas Academy, much like Beacon Academy, seemed like a maze of passages purposely designed to make new students lost and late for class. Never had Ruby been so thankful that Penny had been so thorough with her tour of the Academy. The mere thought of the girl, however, caused the Huntress’s throat to constrict but she shook it off. They were going to get her back. She’d come back once, she could do it again.</p><p>“You’re right, he wouldn’t.” A familiar man’s voice echoed around the corner.</p><p>“You just<em> had </em> to say something.” Nora muttered, as she pointed Magnhild, in its launcher form, at the new arrivals who were casually walking around the corner from the passage that would have led them to Ironwood’s office.   </p><p>“Team FNKI.” Weiss observed as the group came into view. Flynt led the way, his trumpet casually held in his hand, Neon extravagantly stopped beside him, her skates leaving a rainbow of lights in her wake. Kobalt and Ivori  took up the rear, their weapons also drawn as their eyes fell on the intruders. </p><p>“We don’t want to fight you!” Ruby begged, her eyes moving between the small group of people she’d come to consider as friends. </p><p>“Our orders were to protect the academy from danger.” Flynt continued, adjusting his hat, his sunglasses making his expression impossible to read. </p><p>“And it seems you guys have been rather naughty recently.” Neon lightly added, retrieving her scroll and making a show of finding their wanted posters and presenting it to them. “Where’s the rest of your gang?”</p><p>“Helping the people.” Answered Ruby, extending Crescent Rose. Although she desperately didn’t want to fight team FNKI, they would not let them stop her from reviving Penny and helping Atlas and Mantle. </p><p>Flynt nodded his head as if the idea pleased him. “And you guys?”</p><p>“The same, but we need to make a stop before we can do that.” The Huntress explained. “Please don’t stop us, Flynt.”</p><p>Flynt placed his trumpet to his lips and the Huntresses lowered their stances, preparing for an attack. However, when Flynt blew into the instrument, all that was produced was a short gig. Looking at the women’s bewildered expressions he let out a hearty laugh while Neon placed a hand on her hip and shook her head at the group as if Ruby had just said something particularly silly.</p><p>“If we wanted to stop you we would have done it before you even knocked down the front door.” Flynt admitted.</p><p>“So why didn’t you?” Ruby lowered her scythe slightly, now really confused. What was team FNKI’s plan? Why intercept them when they were so close to their destination?</p><p>“Well the headmaster’s orders were to protect the school from danger.” Flynt explained. “But do you guys see any danger here? Any Grimm?”</p><p>“None that I can see.” Ivori admitted in a heavily accented voice.</p><p>“Just a few Huntresses trying to get their job done.” Kobalt agreed, gruffly, leaning his elbow against Ivori’s shoulder.</p><p>“But we’re fugitives…” Weiss’s voice faltered, it was impossible to believe anyone following Ironwood’s orders would let them through so easily, the Ace Ops had known them a lot better than team FNKI had and they had turned on them with far less hesitation.</p><p>Flynt shrugged off her words. “Life wouldn’t be any fun if we didn’t rebel a little.” And he lowered his glasses to wink at the girls.”We move to the rhythm of our own drum that way.”</p><p>“But, won’t you get in trouble with Ironwood for helping us?” Blake’s ears lowered as she voiced her question</p><p>“We are Huntsmen not soldiers, we’ll deal with Ironwood when that happens.” Flynt waved off her concern. “We have no idea what you guys would need from the academy during a siege but you guys keep being you and help Atlas and Mantle.”</p><p>“Thanks guys.” Ruby smiled at the Huntsmen, retracting her scythe fully and strapped it to her back.</p><p>“We’ve got family in both Atlas and Mantle.” Neon admitted, “It's killing us that we can’t be out there keeping our homes safe but you can.” Then, from a small pouch strapped to the small of her back, Neon retrieved what looked like a folded piece of grey material. With a flamboyant arm she tossed the little bundle to Nora who caught it, not having expected the throw to be directed towards her. </p><p>“Although I'm <em> totally </em> digging the mummy look, I picked this up for you.” Neon explained as Nora unfolded the material to reveal it to be a grey Atlas Academy uniform.”We’re more or less the same size.”</p><p>“Erm, thank you?” Nora wasn’t entirely sure what to say. She’d driven down from Schnee Manor, covered in bandages, her black shorts and Blake’s jacket, her battle attire had burnt down alongside the rest of Schnee Manor.</p><p>“It may not be as stylish as your last outfit but hey! I’m sure your boyfriend likes a girl in uniform.” Neon winked at Nora who blushed away her comment.</p><p><em> Ren would never comment about what I wear </em>. She thought to herself, as she buttoned up the dress and tightened the belt around her waist. </p><p>“There, now that’s a lot better.” Agreed Flynt, surveying the small group before him one last time. “Now get out of here, we’ve wasted enough time.”</p><p>“Thanks Flynt.” Ruby gave the group a small smile as she led her team past them and around the corner.</p><p>“And Ruby?” Called Flynt, causing the Huntress to turn and look at the older man. “Be careful.”</p><p>“You too.” She sheepishly answered back before turning to follow her team. <em> I don’t want to lose anymore friends. </em></p><p>“Anyone want to bet it's locked?” Ruby suggested, as her small group stopped before the elevator, its glistening grey doors identical to the numerous others they had previously passed.</p><p>“Our lucky streak has to end at some point.” Blake ominously replied.</p><p>“Well I’ll just smash it in!” Nora declared with a mischievous smile as she raised her hammer over her head.</p><p>“No!” The other three girls chorused, jumping before her with raised arms.</p><p>“Don’t you remember what happened the last time you knocked down one of Ironwood’s locked doors?” Weiss pointed out, irritated.</p><p>“I was knocked out for half a volume?” Nora sheepishly answered, lowering her hammer.</p><p>“Let's first see if it’s actually locked.” Weiss calmly said, turning and, with a slender finger, pressing the elevator button. </p><p>It lit up gold and the doors slid open with a little ding. “And our lucky streak continues.” Ruby said as the Huntresses filed into the large elevator.</p><p>Nora turned her head to the side and looked rather disappointed when she saw only two buttons, one for up and one for down.</p><p>“Going down.” She grumbled, pressing the appropriate button. The elevator began to ease its way down, soft and rather unexpected music began to waft out of unseen speakers. The group stood in awkward silence as the music continued to play and, through the glass rear of the elevator, stone and metal slid past them. Eventually, however, the stone gave way to reveal a wide open  cavern-like room, dimly lit by a cool blue light emitted from large crystals that encrusted the walls. In the soft light of the crystals a wide passage could be seen that led to the opposite side of the chamber.  Looming above them from the other side of the passage was a small platform and the doors of the Atlas Vault. </p><p>“It’s freezing here!” Ruby gasped, wrapping her cloak around her body, steam floating out of her mouth as she rubbed her hands together.</p><p>“We must be deep under the academy.” Weiss observed, running her hands over her arms to generate some heat. “Maybe right at Atlas’s center.”</p><p>“I don’t know, doesn’t feel <em> that </em> cold.” Nora admitted, looking around the chamber in awe, like the rest this was her first time actually seeing a Vault in person. She took a step onto the passage and almost instantly it responded to the presence of the Winter Maiden- intricate lines came into existence across the smooth surface leading Nora towards the Vault doors. The crystals also responded, intensifying their glow until it washed them in a crisp, white light.</p><p>“It must be reacting to you, Nora!” Blake gasped, her ears perking up as the group investigated their surroundings with renewed awe. It was beautiful, as if the essence of winter had been captured within the chamber, the cold seemed less threatening, more promising, like the frigid air just before it would begin to snow. However, not some freezing storm that wore down the people but a soft falling, covering the world in a soft blanket, just perfect to make snowballs with.</p><p>Nora tentatively led the way towards the opposite end of the passage, craning her neck up at the Vault doors above.</p><p>“Do you think there’s a particular reason why the passage is all the way down here and the doors all the way up there?” She wondered, placing her hands on her hips. It was so steep it hurt her neck to look at.</p><p>“Most likely to reduce the chance of anyone other than the Winter Maiden reaching it.” Blake mused, shrugging. “I mean Cinder figured out how to fly after getting the Fall Maiden’s power, in theory you should be able to do the same.”</p><p>“So I guess from here I’m on my own…” Nora’s sad voice trailed off as she sheepishly looked at her friends. “How do I actually do that?”</p><p>“Well Cinder and Penny seemed to get the hang of their powers pretty quickly.” Recalled Ruby. “Maybe it's linked to your emotions? Like my eyes?”</p><p>“Okay...” And, although Nora did not sound at all convinced, she closed her eyes anyway and tried to concentrate on her emotions which were in a sort of spiral. </p><p>Alone… Nora had not been truly alone in a very long time… not since she’d been a child and stumbled upon Kuroyuri village. From the little she could remember from before that she’d been useless and weak, stealing scraps to survive and constantly in tears. However when she met Ren, that had all changed. She’d found a purpose to keep going, they both sort of had- to keep the other safe. Now she was alone and useless all over again, when she’d tried to help before she’d only caused her friends more trouble. Now they were counting on her, asking her to do something she alone could do...</p><p>“I- I can’t…” She muttered to herself, her voice so low Weiss had barely heard her. Nora opened her eyes slowly, shaking her head.“I’m sorry, I can’t do it.”</p><p>“That’s ok, Nora.” Weiss gently reassured the woman, remembering the conversation they'd had back in the operations room and getting an inkling of why Nora may be having difficulty calling upon the Maiden’s power. “There’s nothing here explicitly saying you can't get a little help to reach the Vault.” With a delicate swish of Weiss’s sword a ring of Glyphs appeared under her feet and from it she conjured a large, white Lancer.</p><p>“Hop on Nora.” She said with a knowing smile, climbing onto the Lancer herself. Nora, who gave her a thankful smile, also climbed on.</p><p>“We’ll come with you.” Ruby offered, with her Semblance they’d get up there in no time but Weiss shook her head. </p><p>“You two keep guard. Team FNKI may have let us through but Ironwood most likely has sensors in the lift, he knows we are here.” Weiss solemnly explained.</p><p>“So we don’t have much time.” Concluded Blake.</p><p>“You two get the Relic.” Ruby ordered, nodding her head at her teammates. “We’ll keep this side safe.”</p><p>Without another word, Weiss’s Lancer fluttered its wings and it and its passengers flew towards the platform, Blake and Ruby quickly becoming tiny shadows against the glowing passage. The large metal doors of the Vault looked far more intimidating up close, created from ancient magic they would never understand. If possible, the instant Nora stepped off the mount and onto the platform, the gleam of the vault doors increased further, pulsing slightly in anticipation of her arrival.</p><p>“You got this Nora.” Weiss insisted, giving the Huntress an encouraging smile. </p><p>“I hope so.” Nora muttered to herself, her eyes glowing slightly as the doors swung inwards, opening in the presence of the Winter Maiden.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hey! So that's another chapter posted :D Been on shift for almost 24 hours but managed to post this on one of my breaks. I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and thanks so much for reading! Feel free to drop a comment next update will be on Tuesday :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0016"><h2>16. Creation</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The doors of the Vault swung inwards silently, revealing to Nora a completely different landscape from the cold chamber she stood within. Before her, an endless blue sky stretched out, clear and cloudless. At her feet, sand in beautiful shades of gold and red carpeted the ground, creating a wide, vast desert. Several steps before her, on a pedestal of sand coloured stone, hovering just above it, was an intricate staff. Its hilt was made of entwined gold that opened into a spiral that encased a bright blue gem, the same colour as Jinn’s lamp. From its tip, strange and unfamiliar specks of blue hovered and fluttered away towards the sky, as if, over the centuries since the Relic was locked away, it had been these flecks that had created the startling sky above.  In the distance, two other similar streams of blue particles could be seen. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Captivated, Nora took a step through the Vault door, all hesitation leaving her as the glow in her eyes intensified. Could Weiss not hear that? That low hum? A beautiful, melodious voice, that whispered to Nora, called to her to claim the Relic? She couldn’t help wonder if this was normal. She’d been in the presence of the Relic of Knowledge before, but never had it called to her, was this a result of having acquired the Maiden’s power? The sand felt soft under her feet, the air comfortably warm against her bare skin. She stopped before the pedestal and looked up at the staff, the soft sound filling her mind and she reached out and, with tentative fingers, grasped the staff’s hilt. On coming in contact with the golden metal, which felt lukewarm to the touch, the sound vanished, as did the trail of blue that disappeared into the sky. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nora pulled the item towards herself, inspecting the artifact within her hand. It may have looked like a flamboyant, decorative item but she could feel the power flowing within her grip, urging her to use it... </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nora?” The Huntress blinked, unsure of when she’d walked out of the Vault, Weiss was looking at her, concern etched into her bright blue eyes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Easy peasy.” Nora smiled, shaking off what remained of the trancelike daze, though she spared the Vault one final glance backwards as its doors silently closed once again. “Now let’s get Penny back.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Weiss nodded her head in agreement and, once again, conjured her Glyph Lancer  and it took them to their friends who had been anxiously waiting for them below.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You got it!” Ruby cheered, running up to Nora and Weiss before the Lancer had even landed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s our next move, Ruby?” Blake enquired, shooting the elevator behind them frantic glances, they were seriously trying their luck now. Having broken into, not only Atlas Academy but the Vault as well... Ironwood was not </span>
  <em>
    <span>this</span>
  </em>
  <span> sloppy.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oscar.” Ruby answered without hesitation. “He’ll know how to use it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’ll have to convince him first.” Sighed Weiss, shaking her head tiredly. Things were taking just too long, while they debated what to do next, Salem was on the surface attacking the kingdom.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He should be in Mantle with Yang and the others.” Blake added, looking at her team. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then let's get going.” Ruby nodded her head in agreement.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait!” Nora suddenly yelled, causing her friends to stop, mid-step, and look back at her, confused and concerned at her sudden outburst.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I-I think I know how to use it?” Nora’s brow was creased in confusion. She couldn’t know but yet, a little voice at the back of her mind whispered to her what had to be done.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How?” Ruby asked, voicing the question that was on all their minds.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know.” Nora admitted, shaking her head, but the more she thought about it the more clear it became of what she had to do. “Maybe it's the Maiden’s power?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s possible.” Blake reluctantly agreed. “This is the first time we’ve actually seen a Maiden retrieve a Relic, maybe they’re linked in some way? There might have been a reason why Ozpin specifically chose the Winter Maiden to open the Relic of Creation’s Vault.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I wouldn’t take it past him,” Weiss sighed. “That man didn’t do anything if he didn’t have a reason or plan.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We trust you, Nora.” Ruby declared, presenting the Huntress with the staff. Nora opened her mouth to protest, to say that maybe it would be better if they asked Oscar directly but, as she looked at her friends, she reached out and took the Relic, for in their eyes, all she saw was an unwavering faith.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She held the golden staff between her hands and closed her eyes, bringing into existence the word that had been whispered to her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Schewmaker.” She said aloud, her voice clear and confident.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did she just say ‘shoemaker’?” Weiss whispered to Ruby, leaning sideways slightly.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ruby opened her mouth to answer but, before she could even make a peep, the glow of the staff’s crystal intensified and, from its tip, a spiral of bright blue smoke emerged, swirling itself into a small cloud almost the size of a watermelon. Upon its slightly flattened top, sitting with its legs crossed, was the spirit of the Relic of Creation. A small, elf-like creature that, if it were to stand, would barely reach Nora’s knees. Its body was the same blue shade as Jinn’s, with gold shackles around its thin wrist and ankles. It looked upon Nora with small, dark, beetle-like eyes. Its nose was long and slightly hooked and it had a mop of dark black hair, slightly spiked, as if the creature had too much gel and freetime on its hands. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Greetings, Maiden.” The creature nodded its head at Nora formally, its long nose almost hit his knees where he sat. “Greetings, friends of the Maiden.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Y-you’re the spirit of the Relic?”  Ruby asked as the creature, still sitting on its small cloud, hovered up to eye level. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Schewmaker, yes.” The creature nodded its head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You look very different from Jinn.” Ruby sheepishly observed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just as creation, knowledge, destruction and choice come in many forms, so do we.”  The spirit explained.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Makes sense.” Ruby shrugged nonchalantly, very little could surprise her these days. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Now tell me, what is it you wish for me to create?” Schewmaker asked, his voice calm but eager.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ruby!?” The small group jumped at the voice that had been amplified by the wide chasm.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yang?!” Ruby called back blinking, unable to believe her eyes. At some point, while the small group had been preoccupied talking with Shewmacker, the elevator had made its journey back to the surface and it had begun its return journey down, along with a number of unexpected occupants. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yang ran out of the elevator the moment its doors opened with a little ding and ran to her younger sister, embracing her so tightly she had to beg her to let her breathe. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How did you find out we were here!?” Excitedly asked Ruby, her relief audible in her voice.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We didn’t, not until we met team FNKI! ” Yang admitted, running a hand through her long blond hair, as she inspected her younger sister, taking in the injury that ran along the side of her eye. “Winter broke us out and told us someone got into the Vault, we thought it was Cinder!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Broke out?” Blake asked, running towards Yang and hugging her just as tightly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And when you say Winter…” Weiss put her hands on her hips, “Do you mean my perfect-soldier sister?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, she kind of surprised us too.” Yang admitted, reluctantly releasing Blake. “Good to see you guys are ok.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Back at you.” Weiss gave Yang a small smile but it quickly shifted to one of irritation. “But it seems you may have been followed by a stray dog.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ha ha ha- that was </span>
  <em>
    <span>so</span>
  </em>
  <span> funny.” Emerald mocked, her arms folded over her chest as she rolled her eyes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It's a very long story.” Ren admitted, his cool gaze  inspecting the state of his friends before him, his eyes pausing on the little of Nora’s hair he could see from behind the taller Huntresses. Was she trying to stay out of view?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, seems like it.” Blake's voice was low as, half hidden behind Ren, Oscar appeared, his injured eye still swollen and bruised despite being treated, his jacket stained with splotches of blood.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oscar?!” Nora’s shrill voice caused the boy to wince. Weiss took a step to the side to reveal Nora still awkwardly holding the Relic of Creation in her hands while Shewmaker patiently floated at shoulder level. “What happened?!” She gasped, running towards the boy but faltering as she watched him flinch, obviously still in pain. “Who did this?” She asked, her voice low and menacing, her eyes glowing with anger.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“N-Nora?” Oscar took a surprised step back, not having expected that reaction from the woman. The Huntress blinked, her eyes returning to normal but realising what must have happened. Of course </span>
  <em>
    <span>now</span>
  </em>
  <span> the Maiden’s power manifests itself! </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That light…” Yang’s voice trailed off. “That’s the power of a Maiden!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah... turns out I’m the new Winter Maiden now.” She tried for a fake laugh, shrugging awkwardly and almost dropping the staff as her companions looked at her in disbelief. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What happened to Penny?!” Yang’s violet eyes turned to Ruby, whose own instantly had filled with pain at the mention of their fallen friend. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah…” Ruby’s voice was small as she explained to her friends, unable to look at them. “Cinder killed her.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What happened to Cinder?” Emerald loudly asked. “Where did she go?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh Ruby...” Yang’s voice softened, though there was a clear warning in her eyes directed at Emerald.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So that’s why you guys came for the Relic.” Oscar pointed out, recognising the item in Nora’s hands. Were those bandages around her wrists?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Master Ozma!” Schewmaker greeted, appearing from behind Nora and floating towards Oscar, dragging the boy out of his thoughts. “I must say, your new form is a lot younger than your previous ones.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What is that thing!?” Emerald jumped, her hand falling to the handle of her gun.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That </span>
  <em>
    <span>thing</span>
  </em>
  <span>, as you so eloquently described me as.” Schewmaker explained, hovering over Oscar’s head and towards Emerald, who took an uncertain step away. “Is the spirit of the Relic of Creation, Schewmaker.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m really sorry to hear about Penny.” Oscar continued, walking up to Ruby and placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. “But you can’t use the Relic to bring her back.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?! Why?!” Ruby exclaimed, shrugging him off and turning to look the younger teenager in the eyes. She didn’t want to argue with him, he was beaten and bruised and, looking at him, she understood why Nora had sounded so angry, angry at whoever had done this to him, but losing Penny also greatly pained her. “We just want to ask him to make her more Aura, the rest I'm certain Petro can fix. “</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Making Aura would be a simple enough task for me.” Schewmaker admitted, hovering between Emerald and Yang.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But, according to Ozpin you can only create one thing at a time and </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> lasts only seven years.” Oscar quickly talked over the spirit before it could convince Ruby further. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“W-what does that mean?” Ruby’s voice sounded hollow, her mind muffled by Oscar’s words. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Something Schewmaker makes only lasts for seven years.” Oscar explained, simply but gently. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But isn’t Ironwood using the Relic to keep Atlas afloat?” Weiss pointed out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Exactly!” Schewmaker piped in. “Every seven years the Maiden stops by and makes the same request, anew.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So if we brought Penny back, it would be only for seven years?” Blake’s ears flattened at the news.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then we’ll just ask him again in seven years!” Ruby desperately countered, her eyes darting between her friends. “That’s no big deal!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ruby.” Oscar tried again, his voice remaining level but his eyes begging her to listen to him. She tried to look away but his tone forced her to look him in the eyes. “If you ask Schewmaker to make something new, his previous creation will disappear.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No... that can’t be... because that means…” Ruby’s eyes widened as she realised what Oscar was trying to say.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Atlas would fall onto Mantle.” Nora said hollowly, also releasing the severe consequences their actions would have had. “We’d have done Salem’s job for her and wiped out both cities.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I would have explained that before accepting their request.” Schewmaker said defensively, raising his nose slightly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sure you would have.” Oscar rolled his eyes at the elf, Ozpin’s memories of the spirit proved he was quite prone to causing more mischief and trouble then the other spirits. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So there’s nothing we can do to get Penny back?” Ruby’s voice was so small Yang could barely hear her, her words as broken as her eyes. For a moment, standing before Yang, Ruby was no brave Huntress but simply her kid sister who had lost someone precious to her once again. “She’s really gone this time...”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m so sorry, Ruby.” Yang swallowed, her own eyes glistening with unshed tears and she did the only thing she could think of to comfort her little sister, she hugged her again, allowing her tears to seep through her jacket without complaint. Weiss put a shaky hand on Ruby’s shoulder before joining in the embrace, Blake only a step behind her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nora shuffled her feet awkwardly, not wanting to interrupt the tender moment between team RWBY.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ren?  You’ve been awfully quiet. You aren’t going to say anything?” Nora raised a single shoulder in a half hearted shrug, as she looked at the Huntsman.  He was looking at her as if she’d just grown a second head and, for the first time she felt somewhat self conscious of her appearance, crossing her arms to try cover as much of the bandages as she could. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ren’s thoughts were in a whirlwind of turmoil and confusion. What could he possibly say?! Things had been an utter mess since they’d split up. They’d lost Oscar, been captured by the Ace Ops (twice!), broken into Salem’s headquarters, learnt there may be a girl out there that could bring about the end of Remnant and General Ironwood was planning to destroy both Atlas and Mantle to try to stop Salem. On Nora’s side- Penny had been killed and she’d somehow gained the Maiden’s power (putting her right in Cinder and Salem’s crossfires). Somehow, they'd broken into Atlas Academy and retrieved the Relic (something they had been trying to stop Salem getting), in the hopes it would bring Penny back and, if they hadn’t stopped them when they had, they could have brought Atlas falling upon Mantle. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And, the real cherry on the cake was that he wasn’t mad at Nora or Ruby or the others but at himself! Yang and Oscar may not have noticed it yet but he had- the bandages that ran across Nora’s arms and, when he really focused, he could see pale lines running up her neck as well. Something must have happened to Nora. To have left such marks upon her skin she must have been seriously injured. He was furious, not at Nora, but at himself. He knew Nora could handle herself without him but, that didn’t mean she had to. Whenever he’d needed her, she had always been by his side with a smile or a slap in the face when necessary. This time, she had needed him and he hadn’t been anywhere close.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He tried to open his mouth to answer her but, as he did so, the world around Nora began to shift to black and white.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>No! </span>
  </em>
  <span>He thought to himself, closing his eyes and looking away from the woman. He did not want to read Nora’s emotions like this, he had no right to do so.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nora, misreading his actions, took a surprised step back, so Ren couldn’t even look at her now?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right… you aren’t very good at the talking stuff.” Nora said in a small voice, her shoulders slumping as she turned away from the man, clutching the staff more firmly in her hand as Schewmaker made a slow rotation around her head like some strange halo. “At least tell me Jaune is okay?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oscar's eyes awkwardly moved between the pair, he had ever seen Nora and Ren so out of sync like this. Ren continued to look for the right words, he did not need his Semblance to recognise the hurt in Nora’s eyes. And, although he still couldn’t find the appropriate words, he tried to reach out to her. Oscar saw him try but, before he could reach Nora, Ren was intercepted by Schewmaker, his hand falling through the unnaturally blue cloud.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well! If you’ve got nothing for me to make, can I head back into the Relic now? I don’t care much much for our new guests.” He said in a rather bored tone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“New guests?” Nora asked, turning her head to look at the spirit. “Do you mean our friends?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span> However, the words had barely left her lips when the ground under their feet began to shake, along with the rest of the chasm. It was with a deafening crash that the unexpected guests Schewmaker had just mentioned had finally arrived.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thanks again for reading and I hope you all enjoyed the latest chapter! Proud to say that, from my side, the first Vol of 'The Final Maiden' series is done so updates should be nice and smooth for now (or at least until I have exams). Thanks again for reading and feel free to drop a comment, next update will be on Friday :D</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0017"><h2>17. Frozen</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The guests Schewmaker had announced arrived in a parade of deafening explosions and a confetti of broken rock and crystal. The ground continued to shake as the man and women coughed and raised their arms trying to protect their heads from any falling material.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Your Ex always had the creepiest taste in pets.” Schewmaker commented, shaking his head at Oscar, dust falling out of his hair as he did so and finally disappeared, once again, back into the Staff of Creation. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oscar coughed out the dust he’d inhaled and looked up to where the others were looking. Each member of the group unsheathed their weapons. Yang’s hair, in a wave that started from her roots to the tips, began to glow in anticipation of the battle to come. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Salem’s Grimm had found them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Like worms bursting out of freshly tilled soil, their bodies contorted as their legs grasped at their surroundings, struggling to free themselves from the tunnels they’d dug into the chasm. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How did Salem find us down here?!” Emerald frantically yelled, her large eyes unable to look away at the Centinels that were making swift progress of freeing themselves, some squirmed across the walls, making space for the next Grimm.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Emerald’s panic was well founded, Ozpin had ensured them that when the vaults had been built they had been built in a way that Salem and her Grimm could never find them. That is why the witch had had to make use of humans and Faunus to locate the Vaults. It was impossibly unlikely that her Grimm had stumbled upon this location by chance.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s the Relics!” Oscar called, looking between the armed man and women, his hand subconsciously falling to the lamp that hung at his side. Getting one Relic across Remnant had attracted a fair enough trouble, so Oscar could only imagine how much worse it could get with two in the fray.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nora’s grip tightened on the staff as she watched the Centinels squirm, one pulled itself free and, like some horrible maggot, fell onto the passage on which they stood, efficiently blocking their path to the elevator. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We can’t let Salem get her hands on either of the Relics!” Ruby called, struggling to be heard over the Centinels still digging above. She extended her scythe before her body, its sharpened blade gleaming hungrily.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The Vault!” Nora exclaimed, looking at Oscar as she did so. “ If I return the Relics to the vault, they won’t be able to take them.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re right!” Oscar agreed, unclasping the lamp from his side and handing it to Nora as another Centinel slithered onto the platform, slowly inching itself closer to the warriors. “The Vault will only open for you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nora can you fly up there?” Yang enquired, looking up at the vault doors that were a fair distance above. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Who needs to fly when you’ve got a shield!?” She gave Weiss a mischievous smile as she clipped the lamp to her belt and clutched both the spear and her hammer as she allowed it to extend to its full length. The former heiress nodded her head in understanding, allowing a ring of Glyphs to appear at her feet as she pierced the ground, a white, knight-like avatar appearing behind her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The avatar barely had time to adjust its shield before Nora ran towards it and pushed herself off the hard, ice-like material with a gleeful laugh. She may not have figured out how to use the Maiden’s powers just yet but fighting Grimm was something she could do just fine. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So </span>
  <em>
    <span>can</span>
  </em>
  <span> Nora fly now?” Ren asked, looking at Ruby curiously and somewhat concerned. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We aren’t particularly sure what Nora can do yet.” Ruby sheepishly answered. “She’s having a little trouble using the Maiden’s power.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Less talking, more fighting!” Growled Emerald, sending a barrage of bullets firing at the closest Grimm, some of the bullets ricocheting off its hard white shell. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nora flew through the air, firing a number of missiles to try to redirect her jump. She swung her hammer over her head midair as one of the Centinels that was still attempting to fully enter the chasm tried to reach out to her with its claws. She crushed it with a very satisfying crunch. The Grimm screeched in rage and flailed its many legs to grab her but Nora was already out reach. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She landed on the platform before the Vault, skidding to a stop as, with her built up momentum, she rammed her arm into the doors. She jumped back with a loud clang, waiting for the Vault doors to open. She tapped her bare foot impatiently as the sounds of battle began to reach her from below, she was eager to join her friends and yet, no matter how long she waited, the Vault door refused to open, it simply glowed mockingly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’ve got no time for this.” She muttered under her breath as she, still clasping the staff against the handle of her hammer, raised it over her head and slammed the hammer’s head against the door. She felt the vibrations run across her body, causing some of her old injuries to throb, but the doors remained intact. She shook out the unpleasant feeling in her arms and shifted the hammer into its alternate form and aimed a handful of missiles at the Vault. However, when she waved away the pink smoke, the closed doors stubbornly looked back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Guys!” Nora called, as panic began to swirl within her, why wasn’t it reacting to her? Was it because she was not actively using the Maiden’s powers? But before she hadn’t either and the Vault doors had still opened for her. “The Vault won’t budge!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s not right.” Oscar momentarily looked up at Nora, his other companions preoccupied fighting the Centinels to fully hear her words.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Vaults should open for the Maidens even if the Relic is no longer present.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Ozpin confirmed inside Oscar’s thoughts. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Then why isn’t it opening for Nora? </span>
  </em>
  <span>Oscar answered back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We don’t have time for this!”  Ren yelled, as he landed on the ground alongside the claw he had just dismembered, its former owner shrieking in outrage.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ren’s right.” Yang grunted as she forcefully pushed a Grimm which was trying to spear through her armoured hands, punching at the creature's softer underside with her fists. As the creature reared on its hind legs, Blake swooped out of the shadows, decapitating it with almost incomprehensible motions. The creature turned to dust before its body even hit the ground. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We need to get to the surface.” Ruby grunted, swinging her scythe close to the ground, causing the Grimm she was fighting to stagger sideways as Weiss’s avatar jumped over her, smashing its head into the ground. “Salem must be-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Salem’s not our only problem.” Yang explained, interrupting her sister. “General Ironwood’s going to use a bomb to destroy Salem, and all of Atlas and Mantle with her!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What? That’s insane!” Weiss called, gracefully sidestepping as her knightly Avatar pushed against one of the larger Grimm. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’ve got to stop him!” Yelled Blake frantically, unable to even fathom the strength of the bomb or the thousands of lives that would be lost. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Winter, Qrow and Robyn are going to try to stop Ironwood from activating the bomb.” Yang continued, her glowing hair flying around her face as she stepped back from the  advancing Grimm. “Jaune and Neo are going to try to stop the Ace Ops from delivering it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Though we took a slight detour here.” Finished Ren, piercing a Centinel with the blade of his pistols.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>With all the new information Yang had just given Ruby, the young Huntress couldn’t even feel relieved at learning her uncle was still alive. Coming to the Vault had proven to be her most fatal decision thus far. They’d pulled Yang away from trying to stop Ironwood’s bomb and had possibly sentenced both Atlas and Mantle to fiery destruction. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’ve gotta get out of here!” Ruby declared, so many things had gone wrong because of her, because of the choices and decisions she’d made. She had to try to fix this!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The elevator!” Blake suggested, stumbling slightly backwards as her shadow clone was pierced by a Centinel’s claws and exploded into flame. “It’s our only way out.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“C’mon Nora!” Ren yelled, looking between the Grimm and Nora, the more he tried to move towards her, the more monsters blocked his path. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nora looked down at the chaos below, sparing the Vault doors a brief glance however, for some bizarre reason the doors continued to remain closed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Giving up and with the staff in one hand and her hammer in her other, she crossed her arms over her chest and her body fell backwards, in the same fashion she had done countless times during previous battles. Sensing the Relics coming closer, the Grimm swiftly shifted their attention away from the combatants and to Nora, who landed by slamming her hammer’s head into a Grimm that had had the misfortune of lying just below the platform. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Get into the elevator!” She ordered at the top of her voice, as the Centinels continued to scurry towards her, their claws making an irritating scratching sound against the hard, stone floor. The Huntress gripped her weapon more tightly in anticipation for the fight about to begin as the first shadow loomed over her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nora, we aren’t leaving you here!” Ren called back, making to run towards her but Emerald, much to his disgust, grabbed his arm, slowing his advance.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She told us to get out of here!” She insisted, but Ren pulled himself free, as if her touch alone burned him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We do not leave people behind!” He growled, narrowing his eyes at Emerald, his outburst surprising the woman, never had she seen this Huntsman lose his cool to any degree. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Especially to face off that many Grimm!” Weiss agreed, still unable to deduce why Emerald was actually here and traveling alongside Yang. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Maybe that’s why you are all in this mess! </span>
  </em>
  <span>Emerald thought to herself, irritation and frustration souring her expression. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Guys! Get out of here!” Nora yelled again as she swung her hammer. In response one of the Centinels reared its head backwards, dodging her attack and obscuring her from view momentarily. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We aren’t going to leave you behind!” Ruby yelled, slicing through the air with her scythe. Ruby took several steps forwards, closely followed by the others but stopped as Nora made a number of rather efficient and proficient swings with her hammer, clearing a path through the Grimm and ran towards her friends.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Have a little faith.” She said, giving Ruby a mischievous smile. “Now let's get out of her here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Emerald was already standing  beside the lift doors, a Grimm ominously crawling its way down the elevator shaft, its claws making unpleasant sounds against the metal. A number of bullets kept it back but there was nothing stopping the creature from piercing through the metal and glass.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“C’mon!” She begged, running in as the rest filed into the cramped elevator. Oscar had barely stepped inside the carriage before Emerald pressed the ‘up’ button, the elevator music instantly started once the doors began to close.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll meet you guys on the surface!” Nora’s sudden call caused the small group to jump, a feat in itself considering the cramped quarters. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What the…” Blake began, looking at Nora who was standing beside her but hadn’t said anything. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Damn it!” Yelled Emerald, as the Illusion of Nora flickered out of existence, sweat trickling down the side of her head, using her Semblance on so many people at once still strained her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oscar looked back through the closing doors to see the real Nora still fighting the Grimm on the other side of the passage.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>We can’t leave Nora alone to fight all those things!</span>
  </em>
  <span> Oscar exclaimed in his mind.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Oscar, wait!</span>
  </em>
  <span> But Ozpin was too late,  Oscar slipped through the narrowing gap of the elevator’s doors just as Yang leaned forward, desperately trying to stop them from closing. But, even with her unnatural strength she could only slow their progress, it had now become too narrow for any of them to pass through.  Oscar staggered forward, sparing his friends a brief look backwards but they were barely visible through the door gap. He’d half hoped that the elevator was equipped with a sensor that stopped the doors closing when people were too close but, why would it be </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> easy?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oscar!” Ruby frantically called as the others struggled to keep the doors open. “I’ll get them back!” She declared, activating her Semblance.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ruby, no!” Weiss tried to stop her but, in a flurry of crimson petals, she slipped through the gap, the last petal barely escaping as the doors slammed shut.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No!” Yelled Yang, punching the doors with as much force as she could conjure, barely leaving a dent on the reinforced material as the elevator jerked upwards, beginning its journey back to the surface. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What did you do!?” Yelled Ren, his voice was accompanied by the sound of a body being slammed against metal. Blake was standing beside him, trying to hold Ren back, as he pushed Emerald back with such force he had knocked the air out of her. “How could you trick us like that!?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You were wasting time.” Emerald choked out, finding it difficult to regain her breath. “It was either us or her and she told us to leave!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course she did!” He retorted. “Because she’s Nora!”</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>“Nora!” Oscar called again, catching the woman’s attention and giving the Grimm just the opening to attack. Oscar wanted to run towards her but a strong hand on his shoulder held him back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t try to stop me!” Oscar yelled, struggling against the silver-eyed Huntress’s hold. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Who said I was going to stop you?” Ruby gave Oscar a smile as if she were already up to no good.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are you two still doing here!?” Yelled Nora through gritted teeth, as she struggled to push back one of the Grimm while dodging another. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Elevator was full.” Ruby answered nonchalantly, appearing beside the Huntress in a blink of an eye thanks to her Semblance. She raised her scythe, cutting down a Grimm that had been preparing to strike Nora down from behind. Its body spasmed as it collapsed. Nora fell to one knee as she aimed her missile launcher at another monster, sending it falling over the passage edge into the darkness below. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’ll just catch the next one.” Oscar added, running to stand beside Ruby as Nora struggled to stand. Fighting such a large number of Grimm would have been taxing even if she were in peak condition, but she was still paying the toll for her injuries.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You should have escaped with the others.” She insisted through heavy breaths, her legs threatening to give way.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Even if you could fully control the Maiden’s powers.” Ruby began as Oscar helped Nora onto her feet, the Huntress only slightly taller than the farmboy. “You’d think we’d let you fight all these things alone?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nora opened her mouth to protest but the sound of glass shattering forced Nora to look towards the elevator shaft. The Grimm that had been crawling down its side had pierced through the shaft’s metal exterior and was eagerly digging into the hole it had created, shrieks and bullet fire echoed from the opening. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yang!” Ruby yelled, taking a step forward only to be sent flying sideways by a Grimm. Her arms flailed desperately as she stopped precariously close to the edge. She felt herself falling backwards and forced the tip of her scythe into the ground, stopping its owner from falling into the darkness below.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nora’s head spun between Ruby and the Grimm and their friends trapped in the elevator. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>What could she do!? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She couldn’t be everywhere at once but they </span>
  <em>
    <span>needed</span>
  </em>
  <span> help… </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She </span>
  <em>
    <span>had</span>
  </em>
  <span> to help them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nora’s arms raised to her head, her hammer and the Relic clattering to the ground as pain pierced through her skull. A cascade of voices, their words indistinguishable, flooded her mind. She could feel the alien power building up within her, wishing to tear her at the seams as a single comprehensible thought ricocheted around her mind.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>She had to help them.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>She </span>
  </em>
  <span>had</span>
  <em>
    <span> to help them.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Her wish to save her friends erupted into an explosion of air so cold it froze the water in the atmosphere, allowing a fine dust of ice to settle on Nora’s skin, her eyes blazing with the Maiden’s power. When she felt the magic fade, she looked around herself, uncertain how such a power had manifested itself from her small body but it had done as she desired. The voices faded from her mind as the air shone with frozen ice particles, she saw that the Grimm that had surrounded her and the elevator shaft had also achieved an almost ethereal sheen and, it was with disbelief that she realised they had been frozen in place. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Had she done that?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>How was it possible that this power she could barely control had done all that?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A sinking feeling filled her stomach at the realisation of what she had just done. If she’d been able to freeze the Grimm, what had she done to her friends?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oscar!?” She frantically called, looking around in panic when all she saw were frozen monsters. “Ruby!?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>What had she done?</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thank so so much for reading and I really hope you all liked the chapter and are enjoying the story so far! Thanks os much for all the lovely comments so far, and next update will be up Tuesday :D</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0018"><h2>18. Armed</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Nora’s racing heart was deafening behind her ears, making it impossible to think as she looked around at the Grimm she had frozen into place. How cold was the air? She tried to guess the temperature but the air felt pleasant against her own skin as her head dashed from side to side.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ruby! Oscar!” She yelled again, her voice echoing through the suddenly silent chasm. Foreboding spread throughout her body, was it possible the rest had also been…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nora! We’re over here!” The Huntress half thought she’d imagined Oscar’s voice  but, as she ran past one of the larger Grimm, its frozen body creaking slightly, she saw Oscar helping Ruby come away from the edge, Crescent Rose frozen to the ground below.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re ok!” She yelled, so overcome by relief that she pulled the surprised pair into a spine-breaking hug.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can’t breath!” Ruby choked out while Oscar’s eyes bugged out slightly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right!” Sheepishly answered Nora, putting the two teenagers back on the ground as they tried to catch their breaths.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nora, that was amazing!” Gasped Oscar, raising a hand to his heaving chest and looked up at Nora with his hazel eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You froze them all!” Ruby twirled on her heels, excitedly looking up at the frozen monsters. She tapped one for good measure, pleased with the strange, almost metallic sound it made. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was half scared I'd frozen you guys as well.” Nora admitted, still unable to believe they were, somehow, okay.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It was something Penny could do too.” Ruby said, remembering when they had confronted Cinder back at Schnee Manor. “Her power hadn’t hurt us back then either.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The powers may be responding to your emotions.” Oscar observed, looking at Nora curiously. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Have you ever seen anything like this?</span>
  </em>
  <span> He asked Ozpin as Nora awkwardly put a hand behind her head in response to their praises.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I have seen many take on the Maidens’ powers.</span>
  </em>
  <span> The voice responded.</span>
  <em>
    <span> But I've never encountered one who has had difficulty using it like Nora. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ruby!” Yang’s voice rang out around them as she pounded a fist against the elevator’s wall.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re okay!” Ruby yelled, running towards the elevator shaft and looking up at the Grimm attached to it, a claw still piercing inside. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We are too!” Yang answered. “But I think the mechanisms got frozen, we’ll have to climb out from here. What happened?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nora froze all the Grimm.” Ruby explained while Oscar and Nora ran up behind her, inspecting the elevator. Oscar pressed the elevator button, however it didn’t even light up in response.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can you guys reach the next floor from there?” Oscar called.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yang paused for a moment before answering. “Yes!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It will take too long if we have to wait here until the elevator's mechanisms defrost.” Oscar explained. “Ironwood won’t wait that long.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So that means we’ll need to find another way out.” Nora mused, looking around for an answer.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And I think I may know how…” Ruby's voice trailed off as she looked up at the tunnels through which the Grimm had initially entered. “Oscar do you know from where the bomb will be released?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, the east tower.” Oscar explained. “Jaune and the Ace Ops should be there.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yang!” Ruby called, strapping her scythe to her back. “We’ll meet you at the East tower!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait!” Yang frantically tried to call, her pounding against the metal intensifying. “What are you going to do, Ruby?!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Heading to the surface.” She said as a flurry of petals surrounded her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is going to be fun.” Nora added, a giddy smile spreading across her face as she realised Ruby’s plan. Her cape swirled around her friends, surrounding them in petals. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The exhilaration of using her Semblance had never dimmed, not once since Ruby had first discovered it as a child. Irrespective of the situation, anytime she used it, it filled her with an indescribable sense of freedom. Even now, as she escaped from the Vault with her friends, this sense of freedom momentarily pushed all her insecurities and anxieties to the back of her mind. Ruby often wondered, was it simply a genetic chance that her Semblance happened to be so similar to her mum’s? or had her wish to see Summer Rose one more time manifested into her Semblance? It was like a small part of her mother was constantly by her side during her travels, getting her out of trouble and keeping her safe. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was with surprising ease that Ruby got her friends to the surface, the tunnel she had chosen, thankfully, had had no Grimm still crawling inside - frozen or unfrozen.  The real issue, however,  was when they had reached the surface. Ruby had anticipated that Grimm would be waiting for them on above ground, what she had miscalculated was how many. She had barely released her friends from her Semblance, both Nora and Oscar staggering from the ordeal, Oscar looking slightly squeamish, before they were attacked. Before the Huntress could even try and figure out where they’d come out, several dark figures pounced on Nora, the woman barely fast enough to them with her hammer. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oscar extended his cane, swallowing back the nausea, and charged at the Grimm to try to help Nora, who was most likely being attacked because she possessed both Relics.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ruby’s hand extended backwards to retrieve her weapon but gasped in pain when she suddenly felt numerous claws pierce through her skin and, just as quickly, she was pulled off her feet and into the air, Crescent Rose clattering to the ground. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ruby!” Oscar yelled, frantically trying to run towards the Huntress but a lumbering Grimm continued to block his path, Nora physically struggling to keep the monster away from her and the boy.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“NO!!” Ruby shrieked, trying to pull her hand free from the Nevermore's grip, as it pulled her steadily away from her friends. She gritted her teeth against the pain as she tried to free herself, her feet kicking the air while Oscar’s and Nora’s figures became constantly smaller, the ring of hungry black Grimm encircling them, preparing to pounce.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No!” Ruby shrieked again, her silver eyes widening and flashing uselessly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>This couldn’t be happening. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Not again! </span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>“It’s not that I don’t trust Ironwood’s right hand woman.” Robyn began, looking at the soldiers that walked passed without giving the former prisoners a second glance. Being escorted by </span>
  <em>
    <span>the</span>
  </em>
  <span> Winter Schnee most likely meant that it was business above their pay-grade. “But isn’t the general’s office in the other direction?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We have one last person to pick up before we meet him.” Winter vaguely answered without looking back at the woman.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don't have to remind you that time is of the essence, right?” Robyn insisted, she looked at Qrow for support but the man had his hands in his pockets, his back slumped slightly as he walked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The Ice Queen may be a pain in the behind.” He eventually answered, feeling Robyn’s weighted gaze on him but, he clutched Clover’s badge inside his pocket as he did so, feeling its smooth edge against his finger. “But she is meticulous with her planning.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Careful Qrow.” Winter said, sparing the man a slight side glance as she scanned her card against a panel, the door slid open in response. “That </span>
  <em>
    <span>almost</span>
  </em>
  <span> sounded like a compliment.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I still don’t understand who could be so important that we have to risk being discovered to personally pick them up.” Robyn continued to hiss, as a pair of guards saluted Winter as she led the former prisoners into a wide docking bay. On a normal day, a number of ships would have been parked here but, with Atlas under siege, only a single ship remained and it was very different from the typical Atlesean designs. It was smaller than the military standard aircraft, sleeker, preferring speed over power, its dark paint shone as if it had been recently buffed, its owner clearly having spent much time caring for it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The only person that may be able to talk Ironwood back to his senses.” Winter explained, stopping before the ship as the passenger door began to open.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Talk?!” Robyn’s voice rose at the naivety of Winter’s words. “The time for talking is way behind us now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, maybe if you had decided to talk a little earlier you wouldn’t be in this situation.” Robyn narrowed her eyes as the new arrival appeared from within the ship. A tall woman with long blond hair braided to the side. She looked at Robyn with scrutiny from behind her tin framed glasses. She was wearing a tight fitting and impractical white blouse and black skirt. A purple cape was draped across her shoulders as she took a step off the ship.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And who are you to criticise me?” Robyn asked, folding her arms.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Glynda Goodwitch.” The woman introduced herself formally. “Teacher at Beacon Academy.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Teacher!?” Robyn spluttered out. They had risked being revealed to Ironwood for a teacher?!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Also Ironwood’s former flame, if I recall correctly.” Qrow teased, causing Glynda to roll her eyes at his false pretences although, it was due to her relationship with the general that she had traveled to Atlas upon receiving her former pupils message. It was fortunate, with the attacks underway, Atlas border control was non-existent and that, upon trying to contact the general, Glynda had been redirected to Winter instead. She’d been brought up to speed with regards to his plans.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Also the granddaughter of the last king of Vale.” Winter concluded as Glynda’s crown shaped emblem swished with her movements. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, I didn't know I was in the presence of royalty.” Robyn gave Glynda a mocking bow but the teacher simply ignored her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What is James thinking?” Glynda asked as Winter led the small group back out of the landing bay and into the near deserted corridors, all the battle worthy soldiers were out on the field. “Using a bomb that could wipe out both Atlas and Mantle? That’s going way too far, even for him!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s his Semblance.” Winter explained, walking slightly ahead of the rest as they struggled to keep up with her wide strides. “When it’s activated nothing will break his resolve.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Apart from a good shocker!” Qrow nodded his head, impressed as he realised Winter’s plan. “Like good old Glynda appearing out of nowhere.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Again, it was only by chance that Professor Goodwitch was already on her way here that we can even try this.” Winter explained.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Some of the other Beacon professors also came with me.” Glynda explained.”They’re already on the ground in Mantle helping with the evacuations. Vale ships will be here shortly to aid evacuation.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Unfortunately, they will arrive </span>
  <em>
    <span>after</span>
  </em>
  <span> the bomb is planned to be set off.” Winter concluded, answering the question before Robyn could ask it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So we gotta knock some sense into James before he blows us all to Oblivion.” Qrow concluded as Winter stopped before a set of doors, identical to all the rest they had passed but, over the last few weeks Qrow had been here enough times to know this was Ironwood’s office.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If we fail here, thousands of people will be killed.” Winter added, as if the people around her did not know the stakes that had been piled against them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The soldier raised her hand to open the door but she paused when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Under normal circumstances she may have grimaced at being touched in any way by Qrow Barrowman but the hesitant look he greeted her with gave her little reason to reprimand him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe you three should deal with James without me.” He wearily explained as Winter’s blue eyes turned towards him, for once not looking at him with scrutiny. “I have been having a bit of an unlucky streak recently.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His mouth felt dry as he said this, his hand shaking slightly, maybe a small drink would have helped calm his nerves but, barely had the thought crossed his mind didn’t he clutch the badge in his pocket a little tighter, warding off the thought but not his fear, what if, his presence alone, assured their defeat?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What happened to avenging Clover’s death?” Robyn observed, crossing her arms, impatient as they wasted more time.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Even with your Semblance slowing you down, you are one of the most formidable Huntsman I know.” Winter replied, putting her hand on his and sliding it off her shoulder gently. “Even if your fighting style is reckless and without discipline.” She added.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Careful Ice Queen, now </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> almost sounded like a compliment.” And Qrow gave her grateful smile before she turned her attention to the door, sliding her card over it as the metallic doors opened with barely a sound.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>James was standing with his back to them, his body a dark silhouette against the multiple screens that had his full attention. Very few had changed since the last time Winter had been here, in-fact, much of the destruction had worsened. On a few of the screens she could see the Ace Ops and a woman that looked like her, but wasn’t her, giving wordless instructions.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“General.” Winter greeted, her companions flanking on either side of her as they waited for the men to acknowledge their arrival.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Winter, shouldn't you be with the Ace Ops setting up the bomb?” Although the general was surprised at her arrival, his voice hid it well, turning to see the small group that had come to confront him. “I see we have a few escaped captives, Specialist Schnee.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And an old friend.” Winter added, taking a small step to the side for the man to better recognise Glynda.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Glynda?” Ironwood blinked as if wondering if his eyes were deceiving him and, for a moment, upon recognising the woman, his expression softened almost to the level before the fear of Salem had been instilled in him. But it quickly hardened as the dark blue glow of his semblance spread over his body, returning his attention to his initial goal. “I don’t believe this is simply a social visit between friends.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“James, you’ve got to stop this.” Glynda begged, though her voice still held a slight authoritarian tone of a well-seasoned teacher. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Glynda you were there at the fall of Beacon.” The general quickly retorted. “I cannot let the same thing happen to Atlas.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, what’s going to happen here will be far worse.” The teacher protested, taking a few steps towards Ironwood. “Because their lives would be on your hands not Salem’s.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ironwood turned to fully look at the woman as she stood before him, only the terminal keeping the two apart.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The sacrifices we make today will save the rest of Remnant.” He insisted, his arms crossed behind his back, his voice cool and calm.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“James, you’re a good man… you were always a good man.” Glynda looked at the man tenderly, although his advances in the past had irritated her, she could not deny his intentions had always been for the best of his kingdom and for peace. “You can’t believe that this is the only way.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A long pause filled the air between the two as the rest held their breath. Was it possible that this may actually work? That this would end without further infighting and bloodshed?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>One of the lights on the terminal which stood before him flashed on, Qrow and Robyn jumped but Winter raised an arm to hold off their attacks. James pressed the button without looking away from Glynda and received the call. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“General!” Harriet’s frantic voice erupted from the speaker, her breathing sounded heavy and they could make out hear voices in the background. In one of the speakers behind Ironwood, Winter could just see the outlines of several individuals at arms, Jaune must have been discovered. “The prisoners have escaped!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know.” He calmly replied, surprising the Ace operative on the other end of the line.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think specialist Schnee …”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, I know.” The general repeated, his voice still free from emotion.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are your orders, sir?” Harriet's voice was heavy and strained, whatever had unfolded on her side had already taken its toll.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was a weighted pause as all in the room held their breath for the general’s response. With a calm, steady motion he lifted one hand and pressed a single button which suddenly glowed red.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The bomb is now armed.” He declared. “Release it!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No!” Glynda yelled, raising a hand and sending Ironwood crashing into the monitors behind him, several shattered from the impact, raining glass onto the ground as their injured screens flickered out life.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If she could do that she should have started with it!” Robyn yelled in frustration as she turned towards the terminal. “We have to disarm it!” They were too pressed for time for her to tell anyone of them off for having wasted such a chance! Robyn ran past Ironwood who was still being held back by a reluctant Glynda. He was unnaturally calm, as if, now that his work was done, an alien tranquility had fallen over him. He showed little fear that their group would be able to stop it now that the bomb had been armed. The woman looked down at the terminal, uncertain which buttons to press and unable to understand the writing on the screen.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let me see.” Hissed Winter, sliding beside Robyn and quickly pressing a number of buttons that caused the small screen to flash red.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You can’t stop it now.” Ironwood calmly said, his dark eyes followed Winter’s hands as she tried to disarm the weapon. “This was one of Watt’s designs. Once it's armed it cannot be disarmed.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Robyn swore under her breath as she desperately looked at the buttons before her, there had to be something she could do to stop this! She banged her fist against the terminal in frustration.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Even Watts would install a failsafe.” Winter hissed under her breath as she continued to press buttons only for the screen to continue to flash red. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She had to find this failsafe, thousands of lives depended on it, including her family's. Yang had been unable to tell her Weiss’s location and her mother and Whitley had failed to answer when she'd called the house, the line had in fact promptly cut. The only family member whose location she knew was her godforsaken father’s! She shook the thoughts out of her head, this needed her undivided focus.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Qrow had not moved from where he stood by the door, a cold sweat ran down his spine as the Huntresses struggled to disarm the bomb. He clutched the metal badge so tightly that his skin bled where the metal cut into his flesh, its stinging pain barely comprehensible.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He shouldn’t have come with them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>This was his fault…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>This was because of his Semblance. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was because of his bad luck that they had run out of time.</span>
</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>And that's another chapter posted! Thanks so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed it :) Like usual, next update will be Friday and feel free to drop a comment. Thank you again for reading :D</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0019"><h2>19. Late</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Winter was unusually quiet as the Ace Ops worked. With cold, blue eyes that Harriet had particularly grown to dislike recently, she surveyed the Ace Ops’ work in silence. Back at the base, Winter had thoroughly explained the plan to them as they had come to expect from Specialist Schnee, the general’s favourite pet. She had made it very clear that the east tower had minimal staff as any battle-able bodies were either in the air or on the ground. Now that the Grimm had broken into the city, the Ace Ops were responsible for making sure the bomb was delivered and set up without any interference that may appear in the form of either Grimm or the rest of Ruby’s team that had eluded capture thus far. The mere thought of the silver eyed woman filled Harriet with irrational annoyance and it was of little consolation that her sister and uncle were already in prison.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet's attention moved away from the specialist to the small group of guards that were loading the bomb into the turret, which was also being reinforced to withstand the aftershock of the shot. One guard in particular was causing them trouble, his movements were slower than the rest and, if it wasn’t for the fact they were carrying an explosive he may have actually dropped the strangely shaped weapon several times until that point. Even if he wasn’t stupid enough to drop the bomb, his actions had been enough to slow the others’s work significantly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Who is that bozo?” Harriet muttered causing Elm to look away from the window through which she was inspecting the Grimm at the tower’s base. The outskirts of the city wall had become a wasteland, in the time she had been looking at the army of monsters she’d solemnly noticed that General Ironwood’s ground force, which had been the pride of the kingdom, had dwindled to a simple husk of its former glory.  She was itching to get into the action below but orders were orders. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Most likely a newbie.” Elm suggested, her eyes resting to the monstrous Grimm that had caused them all this trouble. Elm had always been considered one of the bravest, even amongst the Ace Ops, but watching that hideous creature opening its gruesome mouth and spewing out even more nightmarish Grimm, filled even her with fear. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tsk- he better get his act together.” Harriet hissed, peeved by the man’s incompetence, if she didn’t know better she’d think he was doing it on purpose.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just leave him.” Marrow sighed, his gun held in his hands shook slightly. “Anyone would be nervous carrying such an important and dangerous piece of tech.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Doesn’t give him an excuse to blow us all up.” She grumbled, stomping her feet towards the working soldiers. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Marrow frantically shot Winter a warning look, but the woman raised her head and silently strode to step between Harriet and the man, who was now finding difficulty adjusting the clutch of the bomb to the turret.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?!” Harriet growled as Winter folded her hands across her chest. Although the taller woman didn’t speak, her expression was stern and commanded the other woman to get back to her post. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why are you all excusing this incompetence!?!” Harriet shouted, causing Vine to look away from where he stood by the main door to silently observe what was unfolding before him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Winter’s expression hardened further while Harriet’s every nerve filled with anger. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey you!” She called past Winter, causing the man to jump, his expression unseen through the opaque glass of his helmet. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Who? Me?” The man coughed, his voice sounding as if he had a cold or was deliberately making it deeper. He comically looked to either side of himself and pointed at his own direction. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are your credentials and platoon number?” She demanded. “I’ll have to discuss with your supervisor the level of your training.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“M-my credentials…” The man faltered and it almost appeared as if he’d looked up at Winter for answers.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just let him be…” Marrow desperately said but Harriet narrowed her eyes at the soldier, unease making an unpleasant concoction with her annoyance and anger. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Credentials and platoon number.” She demanded again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oobleck!” The man almost squeaked out, coughing before his voice returned to its deeper version. “Bartholomew Oobleck.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There? Happy?” Marrow asked, the shake in his hand increasing. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And your platoon number.” She growled, the men's reluctance to answer her questions had piqued the attention of the rest of the Ace Ops.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Winter tried to put a hand on Harriet’s shoulder, warning her that that was enough but the woman shook her hand off.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Soldier, take off your helmet.” Harriet spat, electricity already crackling across her body. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Harriet.” Marrow warned but the soldier sighed and, with steady hands, he lifted his gloved hands to his head and lifted off the helmet to reveal an unpleasantly familiar face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?! You should be in your cell!” Exclaimed Elm, taking a step away from the window as she recognised the youth that had been hiding under the helmet, Jaune Arc. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait!” He begged, waving his hands for them to slow down. “I can explain.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The general is going to need to know about this!”Harriet exclaimed, gritting her teeth as she raised her hand to the com-link in her ear. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Please, let me explain!” Jaune begged.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet opened her mouth but her own voice was spoken over by another, more powerful command. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Stay!” Marrow commanded, his Semblance stopping the woman before she could contact the general. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s the meaning of this, Marrow?!” Exclaimed Vine, his eyes widened as he watched his teammate forcefully stop Harriet’s actions. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Please, just hear them out.” Marrow begged, struggling slightly as Harriet tried to break free of his hold. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Specialist Schnee!” Elm began, looking to the higher ranked woman for some form of instruction. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But the woman just shrugged and blinked, her eyes changing from blue to pink and brown. She walked behind Jaune, momentarily disappearing from view but appeared on the other side of him, but not as Winter Schnee but rather as Neapolitan. She tilted her hat at the Ace Ops, proud of her own performance. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How did you escape?!” Elm growled, her grip tightening on her weapon. The soldiers that had still been fussing with the bomb slowly began to back away, sensing a battle above their capabilities was about to unfold.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It doesn’t matter.” Jaune quickly answered. “But you cannot let this bomb go off.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s our only hope of defeating that Grimm.” Vine elaborated, his voice still calm as he pointed at the monster outside.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But it will take all of Atlas and Mantle with it.” Jaune desperately tried to explain, seeing the doubt cross both Elm’s and Vine’s faces.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That can’t be…” Vine began.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The general would never do such a thing.” Elm continued, though she didn’t sound as certain.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And why would we believe you?!” Yelled Harriet, her machine enforced arms breaking her free form Marrow’s Semblance as the Faunus gasped for breath, tired of trying to keep the woman in place. She zoomed backwards, away from Marrow and Jaune and placed her finger to her earbud before the latter could recover.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“General!” She yelled looking, frantically between her adversaries, why weren’t Elm and Vine attacking?! “The prisoners have escaped.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know.” General Ironwood's voice was calm within her ear.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think Specialist Schnee …” Harriet began but the general interrupted her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, I know.” Ironwood repeated, his voice still free from emotion.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are your orders, sir?” Harriet's voice was heavy and strained, unsure of what to make of her superior’s tone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was a weighted pause as she waited for the general’s response, she could hear faint clicking across the line but had no idea what he was doing. Suddenly, behind Jaune a number of lights flashed along the bomb as well as on the turret that would fire it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The bomb is now armed.” He declared in her ear, “Release it!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Understood.” Harriet said, lowering her hand. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The bomb is armed!” Warned Marrow having heard the generals' order like the rest of the Ace Ops. “Once the coordinates are inputted it will be dispatched!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We won’t let that happen.” Jaune declared, Neo handing him his weapons  who decided not to question where she had hidden them while she was transformed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We don’t want to fight you.” Elm confessed, they had confronted these children way too many times.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then don’t!” Jaune begged. “You know, deep down, that what Ironwood is planning is wrong.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So you claim.” Snorted Harriet.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You think Winter Schnee would betray Ironwood if it weren’t true?!” Jaune declared, trying to reason with the Ace Ops.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Vine and Elm exchanged hesitant looks as Harriet gritted her teeth. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve gotten tired of hearing you talk.” She declared, activating her Semblance to try to make a bee line to the bomb’s terminal. Marrow tried to use his Semblance on her again but he had to sidestep, narrowly avoiding Elm’s attack.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Neo extended her umbrella, allowing the canopy to furl up and block Harriet’s path. The latter tried to swerve out of the way but Neo, with a graceful little jump, blocked her path once again, this time the pointed end of her weapon fully stopping Harriet in her tracks.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Guys, you have to know that what Ironwood plans to do is wrong!” Jaune tried to explain as Vine activated his Semblance, light green extensions emerging from his limbs.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Like we’d ever believe you.” Snorted Harriet, jumping backwards as Neo sliced the ground where the Ace Ops had been standing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then believe </span>
  <em>
    <span>me</span>
  </em>
  <span>!” Marrow begged, struggling under the pressure of Elm’s attack.  He knew, if the woman was really seriously fighting him, he’d already be a pancake against the ground, fortunate for him she was holding back. “Winter told me the truth about the bomb.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then why would she tell only you and these children?!” Elm growled, the strength behind her push increasing as Marrow felt himself moving backward. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We are a team.” Calmly added Vine, the tentacle-like structures that surrounded his arms extending sideways as Jaune raised his shield, ready to block his attack. “You should have told us.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Team?” Marrow snorted,  his breathing strained from the exertion. “We are just replaceable pieces, aren’t we Harriet!? These kids, with their mismatched skills, make a far better team then we ever could!” The Faunus gritted his teeth and Elm took a surprised step back at the pressure he was building against her. “And that’s because, to them, no one is replaceable.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet let out an irritated ‘tsk’ sound, sliding her thumb down her nose in annoyance. How could one of the elites of the Ace Ops be this naive?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe we should listen to what they have to say.” Jaune was genuinely surprised when Vine was the one to speak. “Even you must admit the general has been acting strange.” Vine recalled, remembering how the general had shot the councilman without hesitation.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We still have no proof that what they claim is true!” Protested Elm. “They’ve lied before!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then believe </span>
  <em>
    <span>me </span>
  </em>
  <span>please!” Marrow pushed the woman back, Elm planted her feet against the ground to stop herself moving further away, it was not normal for Marrow to keep his own against her in a battle of strength. “I may be simply one of the replacements that had filled out a blank space in the Ace Ops, but please believe me.” It was with little reluctance Marrow allowed his gun to fall to the ground, its hard metal clanging where it fell. “Lets act like a team and not simply soldiers this one time and trust </span>
  <em>
    <span>me</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Elm looked at the weapon on the ground, the Faunus’ tail moving sadly as he waited to see her reaction. Although Elm refused to let go of her hammer, she did not attack the unarmed man. Following Marrow’s lead, Jaune slowly lowered his sword and shield to the ground. The pair shot Neo an expectant look. She rolled her eyes and, reluctantly, attached her umbrella to her back, crossing her arms over her chest daring anyone to expect a different reaction from her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Now will you please hear us out?” Jaune begged, looking between the Ace Ops, begging them to listen.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You two can’t possibly be buying this!” Growled Harriet, looking between Elm and Vine who, although had not put away their weapons, were not attacking the unarmed fugitives.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If what they claim is true.” Vine calmly said, deactivating his Semblance. “Then we can’t act rashly.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If the only way to defeat that thing is to destroy Atlas and Mantle what good would that be?” Elm offered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet shook her head at her teammates. “They are lying! It’s what they do!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The woman’s ears pricked as she heard the pounding of feet in the passage outside. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Jaune!” A number of voices were calling. “Jaune!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“See!? They were just playing for time! Reinforcements are here for them.” She hissed, golden electricity once again bouncing across her body.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No Harriet, they weren’t!” Marrow begged, but the woman was no longer listening as she zoomed towards the turret. Neo tried to block her path but she was too slow to draw her weapon. Harriet swerved around her, stopping only when she reached the turret’s input screen. She’d memorised the coordinates, and inputted them before any of the others could do anything significant to stop her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Stay!” Marrow yelled as, through the door Yang, accompanied by Blake, Weiss and Ren appeared, panting at having run through Atlas to reach Jaune. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But they had all been too slow against the speedster. Although Harriet could feel her muscles stiffen as Marrow’s Semblance took over, she felt the turret rev to life under her, releasing the missile with a thunderous roar.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They had been too late. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The bomb had been fired. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>You guys will never know how horrible this chapter was to write, it took ages just to get this done 😅  But anyhow, it's finally posted and thanks so so much for reading as always, and hope you enjoyed the chapter. I think by now I've annoyed you all enough into knowing when the next update will be 😉</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0020"><h2>20. Martyrs</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Before reading this chapter I just wanted to thank everyone so much who has read this fic- it's officially hit a 100 kudos (a first time for me) and I just really wanted to thank everyone for making this possible! Now, without further adieu, chapter 20- Enjoy 😁</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Ruby!” Oscar yelled, trying to run after the older teenager as the Nevermore continued to carry her further and further away. He almost tripped during his impossible chase, the hard metal of Crescent Rose sending painful ripples across his legs. It had been left behind. The weapon Ruby so diligently cared for, had been left behind. The weapon she had made from scratch using her own hands so many years ago, had been left behind. Oscar struggled to remember a time Ruby had been without it, most definitely never during a battle. He twisted his body, gripping the scythe’s handle with both his hands and struggled to pick it up, to take it with him back to its owner, however he was unable to move it.</p><p>“Oscar!” He heard Nora’s voice before the shadow of the Grimm fell over him, a towering dark body of an Ursa that blocked the dot that was Ruby from his sight. He let go of Crescent Rose, lifting his cane just in time to block the larger Grimm’s attack. He took a step back from the force of the attack, Crescent Rose was knocked to the side, further out of the boy’s reach, as the Grimm took several steps forwards, pushing Oscar further back across the unfamiliar terrain. </p><p><em> Keep your knees bent, legs apart. </em> Ozpin’s voice instructed in his mind. </p><p><em> This is not the time for a lesson! </em> Oscar barely had the energy to think the words but, nonetheless he still did what Ozpin suggested, his forced movement backwards, slowing slightly. </p><p><em> Use the creature's weight against itself </em> . Ozpin continued to say, repeating instructions he’d given Oscar countless times. <em> You are smaller but that does not necessarily mean you are at a disadvantage. </em></p><p><em> This is really not the time! </em> Oscar repeated, raising his shaking arms further, trying to push back the Grimm. With his jaw clenched Oscar jumped back, the creature's clawed forelimbs flailing as its own weight pushed it forward and beyond its control. Oscar raised  his arms again, pushing the button of his cane, which triggered it to extend and slammed it down against the back of the Grimm head’s which bounced off the hard ground with a crack.  Everlasting Memory alone may not have been enough to disintegrate a Grimm, or else Oscar could not use it proficiently enough to do so yet, but it was good enough to knock one out and make sure it woke up with a good headache.</p><p>Oscar sidestepped as another Nevermore swooped down from the sky, narrowly being taken away as Ruby had, only to instantly roll out of the way as a Beowulf pounced, its claws digging deeply into the frozen ground.</p><p>“Nora, I can’t see Ruby!” Oscar frantically called, his breathing shallow and fast as he tried to look past the Grimm but the Huntress and the Nevermore that had taken her away were nowhere to be seen.</p><p>Nora gritted her teeth, finding it difficult to swing her hammer while also holding on to the Relic of Creation. The Relic of Knowledge thumped the side of her hip annoyingly with each movement she made. Although a number of the Grimm were attacking Oscar, the mass majority were heading straight for her, the two Relics acting like an irresistible magnet for the monsters.  As her body automatically fought against the creatures, her tiring mind tried to figure out what they could do to escape this situation. She could do as she had done in the Vault, draw Grimm away from Oscar and, although it pained her to leave him alone, she knew she was the perfect distraction. </p><p>However, before she could even say the words Oscar cut her off, his eyes narrowed at the older woman. </p><p>“I am not leaving you behind, Nora!” He yelled, sparing the women a glance backward and narrowly dodging the Beowulf again. </p><p>“They are after the Relics!” Nora protested, swinging her hammer at the Beowulf that had been causing Oscar trouble, the creature dissipated into dust. “You can get out of here! Find Ruby and the others and stop the bomb!”</p><p>“Nora, I am not leaving you alone to fight these things!” Oscar yelled, raising his voice, maybe that would knock some sense into the Huntress. “If Emerald hadn’t tricked us, none of us would ever have!”</p><p>“But...!” Began Nora, firing a number of missiles at a Nevermore, the ring of Grimm was getting thicker around them, flying would have been a very handy trick to escape, or maybe that freezing thing she’d done before? She cursed herself for being unable to use the Maiden’s power in any form of reliable way.</p><p>“None of us want a martyr!” Oscar yelled, jabbing his cane at a Grimm that had appeared behind Nora, distracting it enough for the woman to finish it off. “We all want you to come home.”</p><p>Nora wanted to protest, to say it still didn’t make sense because she was just drawing trouble to the two of them and Ruby needed their help. If she distracted the Grimm, Oscar may be able to get away and find Ruby. She was certain Professor Ozpin could not be agreeing with his plan but instead she smiled at the boy. “And they say I don't alway use my head.”</p><p>Oscar tried for a shrug, reciprocating her smile. “It must be contagious.” But his smile did falter slightly as he looked back up at the sky. “Ruby will be okay, right?”</p><p>“Oh don’t worry about her, she rode a Nevermore in our first class at Beacon.” Nora laughed, the memory renewing some of her energy as she swung her hammer and sent two smaller Beowulfs flying sideways.</p><p>“She did what?!” Oscar gasped, stumbling backwards, almost falling over the Ursa he had felled previously.</p><p><em> It’s true. </em> Ozpin mused, as the memory, that was not Oscar’s, flashed within his mind. It showed a younger, more reckless Ruby riding on the back of a rather aggravated Grimm. <em> Even without her weapon, Ms Rose can handle herself.  </em></p><p>However, although both Nora and Ozpin tried to reassure him that the Huntress could handle herself, Oscar couldn’t help worry. The attacking Grimm, however, quickly brought his attention back to the present. </p><p>Nora’s breathing was coming out pained. How long had she been fighting these blasted monsters? Her missile launcher had run out of ammunition what felt like ages ago and her arms were feeling heavy, her movements slower, sluggish. She found herself looking up at the sky as she tried desperately to catch her breath, only to see clouded darkness.</p><p>How long would this night last?</p><p>Would the sun ever rise on Atlas or had that too shunned this kingdom and left its people to their faiths?</p><p>She blinked as, from a tower some distance along what remained of Atlas’s protective wall, she saw an eruption of light, closely followed by a sound resembling cannon fire. She pinpointed the location with little difficulty and saw a streamlined projectile, surrounded by a shimmering bright blue light, make its way through the dark sky. It crossed over the battle ridden land, its light leaving behind a bright blue tail, its streamline body like some artificial meteorite, it’s target Monstra.</p><p>Oscar’s eyes widened, realising what the mysterious object was before Nora did.</p><p>“That’s Ironwood’s bomb!” He gasped, already running , “Jaune and Winter weren’t able to stop it!”</p><p>“What can <em> we </em> do?!” Nora panted as the boy ran past her and she struggled to follow. What <em> could </em> they do? Was there anything that could be done ?</p><p>“A shield!” Oscar gasped, he didn’t have time to explain, he just had to get as close to Monstra as he could.</p><p><em> Oscar… </em> The warning was clear in Ozpin’s voice</p><p><em> Yes, using your magic to that extent will make our souls merge faster! </em>He yelled to the voice inside his head. He hated the idea, it had become his biggest fear since he’d left his home in Mistral, that his and Ozma’s souls would merge to the point that Oscar Pine would no longer exist in this world. That was one of the reasons why he had always been so reluctant to use Ozpin’s power, he did not wish to hasten the inevitable but, if this power could save thousands, would it not be selfish of him not to use it?</p><p>Oscar ran past the stationary Grimm, which had become preoccupied by the unknown object that was flying through the air overhead to care about the Relics. Some of the flying creatures tried to swoop in its path, to stop its movement, only to shriek away from the bomb as the azure shield that surrounded it hindered their attack.  </p><p>Oscar stopped between Monstra and Atlas, his frame small against the hideous creation of Salem’s that stood before him.</p><p>
  <em> Ozpin, can your power hold it back? </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Oscar, listen… </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Can it be done?  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Oscar… </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Can we do it? </em>
</p><p><em> Yes </em> . Ozpin finally answered, cementing Oscar’s resolve. <em> I should have enough magic stored. </em></p><p>“Oscar! What are you doing?!” Nora gasped, struggling to keep up with the boy, every limb exhausted, never had her hammer felt this heavy. </p><p>“Nora, run back to the city.  You’ll be safer there!” Oscar begged, his hazel eyes following the projectile, it would hit Monstra any second now... </p><p>Oscar heard shuffling behind him and he turned slightly to see Nora standing behind him. Her hammer and the Relic of Creation clutched in her hands.</p><p>“You didn’t leave me behind, you’d think I’d do that to you?” She said through clenched teeth. “You should take your own advice- no martyrs.” </p><p>If they had had more time, Oscar would have protested, but it was too late, time had run out.</p><p>“Thank you.” Oscar whispered instead, looking back at Monstra as, finally, the bomb hit the Grimm. </p><p>What followed seemed to pass in a blink of an eye and yet, so slow, Oscar had half wondered if time had stopped. Oscar outstretched his hands, memories of lives past directing him on what had to be done. He could feel the warmth of Ozma’s magic within him, so alien and yet as much his own as the blood that ran through his body, an exhilarating yet terrifying force that, as easily as it could protect him, could destroy him. Bright green projections spread out on either side of him at the same time as when a blinding white light erupted from where the bomb hit. Oscar’s brow creased, his eyes forced shut as he anticipated the collision of the bomb’s force against his shield. </p><p>He could feel the magic draining at him already, how long would he be able to keep this up?</p><p>Was it strong enough to hold back the explosion?</p><p>Was he?</p><hr/><p>Nora struggled to stand her ground behind the farm boy, the heat of the explosion scorching her skin even as its devastating pressure was kept at bay. Oscar grunted against the pain, sweat trickling down the side of his temple. The force threatened to push him back, to break his concentration and drop this fiery curtain on the kingdom of Atlas.</p><p>Nora could barely look at the explosion and yet she couldn’t look away from its blinding light. Steam floated from her skin as the Winter Maiden’s power tried to keep her cool against the intense heat, the magic escaping her without her control. Oscar took a single step back, struggling to maintain the shield against the bomb's destructive force, his body having no such protection against the heat except his own worn out aura. </p><p>Pushing against the burning air, Nora struggled forward, her steps sluggish, the heat making each breath suffocating, the earth under her feet steamed as the ice melted and evaporated almost instantaneously.</p><p>She placed a hand on his shoulder, the boy’s concentration unwavering as he felt Nora’s cold touch spread across his body, soothing his burning skin, most likely the Huntress herself didn’t know she was using the Maiden’s power in such a simple way. He clenched his jaw as ominous cracks began to form across his shield, this could not be the limits of Ozpin’s magic... </p><p><em> Please, let me help him. </em> Nora begged to no one in particular as she saw the younger boy struggling to keep the city safe. She slowly closed her eyes. <em> Please, give me the power to protect them </em>.</p><p>Not for the first time Nora wondered who could possibly answer her pleas, was it the Winter Maiden’s power itself? Or some higher force?</p><p>Whatever the case, It felt like a damn had burst within Nora, never had she experienced such an efflux of power,  her eyes opened as the burning heat of the explosion vanished completely and the frigid power erupted from her body, engulfing both Oscar and herself. The Winter Maiden’s strength manifested itself into an almost solid wall of ice and wind that pushed against Ironwood’s bomb and reinforced Oscar’s shield, sharing the burden between the two ancient magics.</p><p>Although only mere seconds must have passed, to Oscar and Nora it felt like hours, however the price they’d pay was beyond either’s imagining. The hot air that couldn’t escape forwards towards the city, rose into the sky, piercing through the thick clouds like some celestial arrow, revealing the bloodstained sky above. Oscar fell to one knee, his hands shaking as he struggled to keep up the shield, he could feel the limit of his power and collapsed when it had been reached. Ozpin spoke words within his mind but their meaning was lost on the boy, each thought drowned out by his racing heart. He slumped to the ground, his breathing heavy and his face a bright red from the strain. Darkness tugged at the edge of his consciousness, begging to keep it back as engulfed his mind and, with it, what remained of his protective shield.</p><p>A single comprehensible thought remained.</p><p>Had that been enough?</p><p>Nora raised her head shakily as the explosion crashed into her with renewed force when Oscar’s magic had, finally, completely faded. She could feel her own consciousness failing her, her body not built to produce and release such waves of energy and yet the bomb’s light showed no sign of fading. She strained her injured body beyond its limits, willpower alone fuelling her desire to keep Atlas and Mantle safe... to keep its people safe… to keep her friends alive. She refused to be useless for the only thing that stood between them and their destruction was a power that she could hardly control, a power that should never have been hers.</p><p>Although the magic that infused the Winter Maiden was ancient and immortal,  Nora was neither, her body and mind were human, she was not indestructible.</p><p> But, had they done enough? </p><p>Had they at least spared some of Atlas and Mantle from this devastation? </p><p>She doubted either she or Oscar would survive to see the fruit of their labour, but she hoped it had been enough.</p><p>She looked at the all consuming light, the border of her vision fading as she lowered herself to kneel beside Oscar’s collapsed body. Her whole body shook from the strain as the tips of her fingers began to take an almost bluish hue, frost running along her outstretched arms..</p><p> They fell to her side limply, unable to hold their own weight any longer. The wall of ice, and Atlas’s last defensive line, vanished along with the Maiden’s mysterious power, which came to Nora like a tide, receding and vanishing just as she’d capture a glimpse of it. She closed her eyes in anticipation of the blinding light that would wash over them, having no more strength to do beyond that.</p><p>Had she finally managed to be useful?</p><p>Had she managed to keep Ren and her friends safe?</p><p>A single burning rose petal fluttered past her face as Nora Valkyrie joined Oscar Pine in the world of unconsciousness.</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thank you so so much for reading and I really hope you enjoyed it. Feel free to drop a comment, next update will be Friday as usual 😁<br/>PS- Has anyone seen episode 11 yet!? No spoilers but 🥺</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0021"><h2>21. Failure</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Ruby grunted against the pain that seared through her arm, her own weight threatening to dislodge her shoulder as the Nevermore took her further and further away from Oscar and Nora.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let me go!” She yelled through the pain induced tears, twisting her body in such a way that she managed to kick the Grimm’s soft underside. It gave an indignant squawk but otherwise it did little to aid her release. Ruby continued to struggle against her captor but, without Crescent Rose she could do little to free herself. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her mind raced, thought after thought trying to create some form of escape where there were none. However, help came in the form of an airship, it metal dented and pierced, its occupants battered and beaten as they shot countless bullets at the Grimm, it had been quite a while since Ruby had actually been pleased to see the general’s white clad soldiers. The creature of Grimm screeched in pain and, momentarily its grip tightened against her arm. Ruby’s Aura glowed as it struggled to stop it from breaking but the monster's hold eventually began to disintegrate, allowing gravity to pull Ruby down to the ground below. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Landing strategy</span>
  </em>
  <span>. She thought to herself, activating her Semblance in an attempt to break her fall, Professor Ozpin’s first lesson had proven, countless times, to have been one of his most useful. She skidded to a halt in a spiral of crimson rose petal, her body staggering sideways. She blinked away the adrenaline and vertigo to find herself once again amongst the broken streets of Atlas. Ruby looked around herself wearily, she felt almost naked to be in the middle of a practical war zone without her beloved weapon. It had been the most basic piece of training she’d received long before even being admitted to Beacon- even the most skilled Huntress would fall to the Grimm without her weapon, let alone without it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ruby shook her head, desperately trying to dispel the thought. She had to find Oscar and Nora. The Grimm hadn’t taken her far over Atlas’s wall, if she hurried she could catch up to them in no time, provided the Grimm hadn't gotten to them first...</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ruby shook her head once again and forced her legs to move. She would not allow herself to think like that, they </span>
  <em>
    <span>had</span>
  </em>
  <span> to be fine. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But would they really? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nora was still recovering from her injuries and, although down in the Vault she’d been able to freeze the attacking Grimm, she seemed to have as little control of the Maiden’s powers as she did over her silver eyes. And Oscar? He had by far seen better days, how long could he last out there if his injuries worsened?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ruby gritted her teeth as these thoughts continued to plague her mind, unable to dispel them no matter how much she tried. It had been her idea to escape through the tunnels and that had simply proven to be yet another mistake, just like every decision she had made since coming to Atlas- The vault, Penny, Ironwood- every decision she had made, every mistake had accumulated to this indescribable destruction and loss. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She looked up at the destroyed buildings that lined the once lively streets of Atlas, at the bodies of the city’s citizens and guards. Through cracked helmets she saw wide, unseeing eyes look back at her. She forced her eyes away, to continue walking forwards. Over the years that had almost become her motto, her mantra, no matter what life or Salem, threw her way- keep walking forward. However, it had recently felt like her path had begun a steep decline.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>  Ruby heard screams in the distance, echoing over the growls and blaster fire that already filled the streets. Her first instinct was to run to the sound, the sound of the terrified screams driving her adrenaline but she forced herself to stop as pain coursed through her injured arm. By the time she’d reach them it would be too late … and what could she actually do on her own, unarmed?  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The screams faded soon after that and guilt settled within her stomach but Ruby continued to walk forwards.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ruby could see the destroyed wall up ahead and she trudged towards it. Grimm were making their way across, Salem’s armies were as relentless as their master. Weariness and the pain of loss further darkened her thoughts, her own mind questioned her right to be called the leader of team RWBY.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Had this war been a result of her countless mistakes? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>If she’d told Ironwood the truth immediately, would she and her friends still have become fugitives in the kingdom’s eyes?</span>
</p><p>
  <span> If she'd chosen differently, would they have been able to protect Atlas and Mantle better?</span>
</p><p>
  <span> If someone else had been tasked with making decisions, would events have unfolded differently? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Would Atlas have been better prepared to fight Salem? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Would reinforcements have arrived more quickly? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Would her friends not have gotten hurt? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Would Penny not have died?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Professor Ozpin had once said that he’d made more mistakes than any man in the world, knowing what Ruby knew now, she could see what he had meant. However he had assured her that taking on Ruby as a pupil and making her team leader had not been one, but had he simply added another mistake to his ledger without his knowing?  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Close to the wall, Ruby hid behind a crashed airship as a pack of Beowolves entered the city, their muzzles in the air, sniffing for prey. Ruby held her breath as they prowled past but they halted again when a particularly loud blast caught their attention. From a guard tower several streets away a bright blue projectile had been released, vanishing from Ruby’s vision over the remnant of the city boundary. Distracted by the object, the Grimm followed its movement with their menacingly glowing eyes, paying Ruby little heed as she used her Semblance to get past them. She staggered to a stop as she watched the bright blue shield that surrounded the missile repel the Grimm that tried to stop it, a tail of light following in its wake. Ruby held her breath when she saw that it was heading straight for Monstra.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That was Ironwood’s bomb.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The others had failed to stop it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ruby feebly ran in its direction, switching between normal running and using her Semblance to manoeuvre around the Grimm. She’d stumble as she continued to run, only stopping as her eyes followed the bomb, inching its way towards the titanic Grimm.  The light of the explosion that followed was blinding, Ruby had to raise a hand to her eyes to block out its light but she blinked when a translucent shield for green erupted from a spot some distance away. Ruby’s tired eyes widened as they fell on the barrier’s source- at its centre, arms outstretched, she could barely make out Oscar Pine. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Even from where she stood she could see his small frame shaking as the force of the bomb threatened to push him back. She took a step in his direction, the Grimm too mesmerised by the light to notice her. She watched as another shadowed figure struggled against the bomb’s power, reaching the boy before her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was Nora Valkyrie. She was standing behind Oscar, flames of brilliant blue surrounding her body, electricity crackled across her skin as she too raised her arms. Ruby felt a cool air rush past her, sweeping her cloak forward as a magnificent  wall of ice and wind reinforced Oscar’s shield. Ruby continued to run towards them, every nerve telling her she had to reach them, but each muscle crying out for her to stop. She knew they were in trouble even before Oscar collapsed, his green shield vanishing in a shower of green magic leaving Nora’s power to be all that was keeping the force of the explosion back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But she too began to falter as Ruby saw her fall to one Knee. If Nora’s power faded,  the two of them would be engulfed by the blast, even if they had done enough to hold it back from Atlas, there was no chance they would escape it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ruby felt power coarse through her tired limbs, urging her to move, faster and faster, to activate her Semblance and push it past its limits, to speeds she’d never reached before. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She reached the fallen pair just as Nora lost consciousness. Ruby could feel the heat of the blast against their back as she used her Semblance to carry them away, her every fiber struggling to stay ahead of the explosion. She could feel its heat building against her back, singing the hairs on the back of her neck but she urged herself to keep going. Every decision she had made may have been the wrong one but she would not allow another of her companions to get hurt, not while she still drew breath herself </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ruby’s Semblance broke several streets away from the wall, the unconscious forms of Oscar and Nora sprawled on the destroyed ground, she wished she could have been gentler with them, but these were what could be described as desperate times. Ruby forced herself to look around, her feet wobbling under her own weight, the light of the explosion was nowhere to be seen. The heat and the force had washed over Atlas, disrupting further the already fractured infrastructure of the buildings and melting what remained of the snow. But the blast, the actual explosion that had threatened to wipe out all of Atlas had stopped just short of the wall, much to the occupant’s of East Tower’s relief. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nora and Oscar had done it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They had done just enough.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They had saved Atlas and Mantle.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ruby collapsed on her back, rocks and debris pressing against her back, but her body had gone numb from her own pain. Through half closed eyes she looked up to the sky above, the clouds having cleared just enough for her to see a part of the azure sky before the silhouettes of multiple airships, some she recognised to be from Vale, others from Mistral, obscured the blue once again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The night had finally ended. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ruby Rose’s eyes closed, fatigue and strain dragging her to the world of unconsciousness, her cloak draped over her as if to protect her from what could come next. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It wouldn’t be for some time that she would be found, along with Oscar and Nora, by a number of Faunus from Menagerie which had also come to aid the Kingdom of Atlas.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Qrow almost fell against the door, his eyes impossibly wide as a number of the screens in Ironwood’s office turned to static. Not a single one that had previously portrayed the east side of Atlas and Monstra remained. They had momentarily flashed white as the bomb’s explosive power engulfed them, and then they showed no more. However, the cameras at the East Tower had shown a different scene, of a shield of magic that had spared Atlas from unimaginable devastation. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“T-that was my grandfather’s power.” Glynda’s voice was small, barely remembering to keep her Semblance activated to keep Ironwood restrained. She narrowed her eyes at Qrow. “You’ve already found his next host?!” She accused. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry.” Qrow sarcastically answered. “We were too busy trying to stop a bomb to tell you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That was also the Winter Maiden.” Winter calmly observed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Penny and Oscar must have somehow gotten onto the battlefield.” Qrow speculated, though Yang had failed to mention anything about the android the last time she reported to Winter. “If it weren’t for them, we’d all be fried chicken by now.” That last comment was directed to Ironwood, who was looking at the screens with a blank expression, smoke filled the majority of the tower cameras, obscuring the result of his bomb from their view. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>On a few of the screens Qrow could make out Yang and few of her friends and the Ace Ops struggling to make out the result of the bomb’s detonation as well. It filled him with relief to know that she was safe, however Ruby had been MIA for far too long, what if she’d somehow been caught up in the explosion? The last update they had received from Yang said that she, alongside Nora and Oscar had had to find another way out of the Vault and, if Oscar had been out there, trying to block the explosion, Ruby could not have been far behind.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That was magic, wasn’t it?” Robyn breathed, she had barely come to terms that such arcane powers existed in their world, but to see it actually used... Those were forces none of them could even dream to counter. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Welcome to the big league.” Qrow joked, readjusting his composure to stand beside the Huntresses as they looked at the screens. “You saw that James? Those ‘fugitives’, as you called them,  just saved Atlas from your bomb.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But the general refused to reply, his face, which had been spared any emotion until that point, slowly shifted to one of horror, the dark blue light of his Aura spreading over his body as, finally, his Semblance was broken. What unfolded on the screen as the smoke finally began to clear shocked the man far more efficiently than the unexpected arrival of Glynda Goodwitch could ever have. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The destructive weapon which Watts had so proudly designed had done its job, Monstra was gone, as was a large chunk of the agricultural land that had made up the outer border of the east side of Atlas. However, through the smoke and destruction, something none had expected to see filled a number of the remaining screens- a castle. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was a castle built of pure black stone, like something from one of the fairytales they had heard as children, with multiple tall pointed towers and small, arched windows. At the forefront was a large balcony and, upon it, looking mildly annoyed but perfectly intact, was the witch herself, Salem. She looked out at Atlas with contempt and, from behind her two figures were barely visible, the large hulking form of Hazel Rainart and a much smaller silhouette, her arms impatiently crossed, Cinder Fall.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Salem’s eyes narrowed at Atlas, as if Ironwood’s bomb had simply been an unexpected nuisance that had just destroyed one of her favourite pieces.  In silence, she turned her back on the kingdom and, with a simple gesture of her hand, dark fog surrounded her castle, obscuring it from view. When it finally cleared, nothing remained of the immortal woman but destruction. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It was for nothing.” Ironwood muttered to himself, his head shaking in disbelief. “The bomb failed… Salem is still alive…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His whole body began to shake and, out of fear he would hurt himself, Glynda lowered him to his feet and released her Semblance. The general began to crumble before their eyes, falling to his knees as if his legs could no longer carry the weight of the burden he now bared, as finally, with his Semblance deactivated, the full comprehension of his actions began to unfold in his mind. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It-it failed…” His voice sounded heavy and raw, “I almost sacrificed all those lives… for a plan that was destined to fail...”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Under normal circumstances Qrow may have tried to console the man that, although Salem still lived, much of her army had been destroyed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But he would have done that before he’d turned himself and his family into fugitives. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He would have felt sympathy before his actions had brought Clover Ebi to his own death- just one of the many lives James would have to live with as a price of his actions.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ironwood pressed his hands to his face, the same thoughts repeating themselves in his mind.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>What had he done?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>All those lives… all those lives he’d taken… for what? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>A failure.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He had pledged to protect the kingdom of Atlas.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He had failed them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And, with that realisation, the tin soldier began to shed tears that none, not even his oldest acquaintances, Qrow and Gyinda, had ever seen him shed.</span>
</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>And another chapter posted and I honestly can't believe there's only one chapter to go (or is there? 😉)  Thank you so so much for reading and I really hope you enjoyed the chapter. Feel free to drop a comment and the finale of vol 1 of 'The Final Maiden' comes out Tuesday. Thanks again for reading!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0022"><h2>22. Epilogue: The Final Kingdom</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p></p><blockquote>
  <p>
    <em>
      <span>“I will cling, I will clutch,</span>
    </em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em>
      <span>I'll hold onto you, I won't turn away.</span>
    </em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em>
      <span>I won't leave, I won't go,</span>
    </em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em>
      <span>I will stay with you all our days.”</span>
    </em>
  </p>
</blockquote><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>The song echoed around the young girl as the woman's melodious voice tried to lull her to sleep. Night had fallen outside, the stars peeked through the darkness to illuminate the sky beside the shattered moon, an army of sentinels that watched over Remnant’s sleeping inhabitants. However, that evening, a single child had refused to give in to sleep and the promise of dreams that came with it. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>She sat, nestled within the singing woman’s arms, as small, yet beautiful, blue flames hovered around the pair, warding off the frisk night air that had begun to creep in. Groggily, the child reached out towards one of the gentle blue flames. It fluttered around her small hand much like a butterfly, a beautiful blue butterfly, that was warm to the touch and, as it licked her fingers, it did not burn but comforted the girl.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“You always sing the same song.” The child observed, looking up at the woman, the small flames illuminating her aqua blue eyes, so bright they brought the stars to shame.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Well, first off, it's the only song my mother ever used to sing to me, so it's honestly the only one I know.” The woman began, looking down at the child as she ran a calloused hand through her soft hair. “Secondly, I’m a Huntress not an entertainer, if you don’t like my song you can go ask your father next time.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>The woman’s outburst had the desired effect, as the child began to giggle and the woman pretended to pout.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“No!” Squealed the child through her laughter. “Daddy’s singing makes my head hurt.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Me too.” The woman admitted, sighing mournfully at the thought and the child laughed again.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“And your song makes no sense!” The child continued. “It says you won’t leave, but where would you go?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>The woman looked down at the child, at the innocence in her eyes, of one, as yet, unhurt by this world filled with monsters. The woman cradled the child in her arms a little tighter, surprising the girl who let out a little ‘oof’. She had already grown so big, soon the two would no longer be able to sit like this. The child would enter the world and such moments would become mere fragments of memory, hopefully to be buried under newer and more beautiful ones. However, for now, her world was simply them, and whatever her imagination created.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Nowhere.” The woman promised, kissing the top of the child’s head. “I am not going anywhere, Eleanora.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>The child giggled once again as the woman’s breath tickled her head. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“You’re being silly.” The child beamed, squirming slightly to better look up at the woman. Eleanora extended a small hand towards the woman’s face and, with a single finger, gently poked the tip of her nose, causing the woman to smile softly at the girl’s childish actions.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Boop.” The girl responded, smiling broadly up at the woman.</span>
  </em>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Ruby sat on the small parapet, her bandaged arm strapped to her chest, her silver eyes looked up at the thickly congested sky, as she reminessed on the mistakes she had made and the lives that had been lost. They were on her shoulders, on her ledger. Since Beacon she had come to believe that she was the right person to lead her team, and the capable Huntresses that made up team RWBY believed that notion full heartedly. However, recent events had opened her eyes to what she was truly capable of and of the consequences her actions had had on innumerable lives. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ruby Rose had become painfully aware that she was far from deserving of the title of Huntress, of the respect such a title instilled and the responsibility that was born with it. She had always claimed she wanted to be a Huntress, to be like one of those heroes in her mother's old stories but, at that moment, she felt lower than the worms that dug in the soil below her feet. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And yet she still felt relief, somehow they had all made it to the end of this chapter without another casualty.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ruby closed her eyes gently as soft snowflakes began to flutter to the ground, tickling her cheeks before melting to run down her face, as if the sky wished to shed the tears she no longer could. The snow felt cold against her skin, as did the point of the blade against her back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was wondering why you were traveling with Emerald.” Ruby observed, still looking up at the sky as the tip pierced her skin slightly, causing the sensation of a light sting. “Is this revenge for Torchwick’s death?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Neo grunted in response, her hand tightening on the handle of her umbrella. She had been waiting for just this opportunity, to find Ruby Rose alone and unarmed. She had never intended to aid her team as she had, although the prospect of her death had acted as a sufficient motivator to continue her charade.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know it was not me that killed him, right?” Ruby asked, her voice soft as the snow fall continued to silently increase. “One of Salem’s Grimm ate him upon that ship. He may have been up there fighting me, but it was Salem’s creation that stole him away from you.” Just as she had stolen Pyrrha from Jaune and Summer Rose from Yang and herself. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ruby could feel the point of the Umbrella dip slightly, Neo’s hold on her weapon loosened, knowing that Ruby’s words were true. This girl, who was so much younger than herself, had voiced the words she could not. Since she’d met the mother of Grimm Neo had known she had been the cause of Ronald’s death but what could small, silent Neo do against an immortal being like Salem?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can understand why you hate me.” Ruby continued, turning slightly to look back at Neo, whose mismatched eyes were gleaming slightly, Torchwick’s hat was slightly lopsided on her head. “But I can also understand that you hate Salem more. “</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ruby rose to her feet slowly, brushing the snow lightly off her skirt as she turned to properly face Neo. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We may not be able to defeat her, not yet anyway, but we know another way of hurting her.” And, with unhesitant hands, Ruby unhooked the Relic of Knowledge that had been clipped to her belt, and presented it to Neo. “We</span>
  <em>
    <span> do</span>
  </em>
  <span> know how to stop her getting what she wants.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Salem will need all four Relics to destroy Remnant.” Ruby continued to explain as Neo looked at her curiously, suspecting some trick from the Huntress. “If we have two Relics together, it will become impossible to stay hidden from her Grimm and they would be so much easier for her to collect… if we were to lose.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Neo reached out, understanding Ruby’s words.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We must keep the Relics apart and out of her hands.” Ruby concluded as Neo took the lamp and clipped it to her own belt, the artifact shrinking in size to better suit its new owner, its glow faint now that all Jinn’s questions had been asked.  “Keep it safe Neapolitan, we will fight when this war with Salem is over.”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>And please let this not be another mistake.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Thought Ruby, as Neo nodded her head, leaning against her umbrella, obviously pleased with Ruby’s terms.  A sound from the distance momentarily distracted Ruby’s attention, maybe a cat trying to seek shelter from the slowly increasing snow? But, when she turned back to the doorway, Neo was nowhere to be seen.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ruby sighed to herself, rubbing her hands against her arms as the cold air slowly began to bite at her. Maybe it was time she went inside as well.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>“And I’m telling you, you should stay.” Winter’s usually calm voice was uncharacteristically loud as Ruby entered the living room. Pietro had been kind enough to let them stay at his home in Mantle until everyone had fully recovered and, although both Winter and Glynda had promised they could stay at the academy dorms, after what they had all been through, they all wanted some place that felt a little more like home. And Pietro’s residence was exactly that- a home. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Although some may have believed Penny had been simply a weapon, to him she had been something more, his daughter. Pictures of the pair smiling covered nearly every surface, and, although Pietro looked older in each one, Penny looked almost exactly the same, except for her hair and clothes. A few photos had obviously been more recently added, showing Penny smiling alongside Ruby and the others. Ruby smiled sadly at the memories, the events of the last few hours had helped her forget about Penny’s death but now it was slowly dredging itself back to the surface.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are those two arguing about?” Ruby asked no one in particular, as she noticed that it was Weiss and Winter who were the center of everyone's attention. Everyone but Nora and Oscar, who were recovering in the neighbouring room, and Ren, who was staying beside them, were there, haphazardly cramped into the medium sized living room. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Winter thinks we shouldn’t go to Vacuo.” Qrow absentmindedly said, swirling a clear fluid in his glass, it took Ruby a moment to realise that her uncle was drinking water. She smiled to herself, at least Clover’s loss hadn’t pushed him over the edge again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And I'm telling her we </span>
  <em>
    <span>have</span>
  </em>
  <span> to go.” Weiss countered, crossing her arms stubbornly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And Weiss, tell me again, why is that?” Winter was almost begging now, trying to make her younger sister see reason. “Sustrai already confirmed that Salem sent forces to infiltrate Vacuo, so why must it be </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> specifically to stop her? We can try to contact headmaster Theodore, warn him to keep the Maiden and the Relic safe, and send his own Huntsmen to fight them.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Where is Emerald, anyway?” Ruby enquired, this time it was Jaune who answered. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She took off.” The Huntsman answered. “And Neo?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“In the wind, as is the lamp.” Ruby confirmed, Jaune nodded his head, Emerald had told them enough to know why Napoleon was really with them and they all agreed it was wisest that the Relics remain apart. Although some were skeptical, the Relic of Knowledge had no apparent use this era, other than conjuring the old gods to pass judgement on Remnant. Neo, with her Semblance and skillset, was the best choice to keep it out of Salem’s grasp, especially since the Atlas Vault had refused to open for Nora.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just as he sent reinforcements to Atlas?” Weiss retorted. Shortly after Nora and Oscar had succeeded in holding back the majority of the bomb, the reinforcements from Vale Glynda had promised had arrived, closely followed by help from Mistral and even Menagerie. However, all remained silent from the side of Vacuo. “And how will you contact them? The communication towers between the kingdoms aren't working again. “</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pietro got the </span>
  <span>Amity Communications Tower</span>
  <span> to work once, we can get it to work again.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And by then  it could be too late.” Weiss insisted. “ Salem has already got a head start on us in Vacuo.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Winter tried to let out a calming breath.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Give it a rest, Ice Queen.” Qrow gave a low chuckle, he couldn’t deny he enjoyed anything that ruffled Winter’s usually perfectly kept feathers. “My own niece ran away from home to get this job done, they’re as stubborn as a whole pack of mules.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Although I don’t appreciate my sister being compared to a mule.” Winter told the older man, she reluctantly continued. “Qrow is right. Just as the military is my path, this is yours.” Her pale blue eyes then fell on Qrow again. “I take it you will be joining them?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t sound so disappointed.” Qrow laughed, taking a swig from his glass as if it actually contained alcohol. “I’m in this for the long run. Anyway, there has to be some form of parental guidance with this lot of hormonal teenagers.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Winter, along with Yang and Ruby, rolled their eyes at the man’s comments through, the fact he was going to travel with them did seem to settle some of Winter's nerves.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then it's agreed,” Yang looked around at the small group nestled within the warm living room, some were sitting on chairs or the sofa, others on the floor. “Next stop on our world tour is Vacuo!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You almost make it sound like we are on vacation.” Laughed Blake. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Stomping on Grimm and stopping apocalyptic prophecies?” Yang laughed. “What could be better?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A beach.” Maria solemnly answered. “A beach with sun warming these old bones.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The older woman’s comment caused the whole room to burst into laughter, the tension that had plagued them evaporating along with the pressure each one had been carrying. As Yang and the others continued with their light hearted conversation, Ruby carefully made her way to where Pietro was sitting, looking at the youths’ energetic laughter with a sad smile. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Penny had some real good friends.” The old man said, looking up at Ruby who looked at him with an equally as sad smile. “She’d be happy to know you were all safe.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is there really no way we can get her back this time?” Ruby quietly asked though her words still seemed to fill the room, silencing her companions. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Although it warms this old man’s heart that you care so much for Penny, like I’ve said before, I’ve got no more Aura to give her.” Pietro explained.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But, what if someone else gave her some of their Aura instead?” Blake asked, it sounded like something from one of her books but, much of what they had gone through would be too wild to ever be considered the truth. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, exactly!” Jaune piped in. “I’ve got plenty of Aura, I'm sure I'd be able to spare enough to get Penny back.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’d all give up some of our Aura if that was enough to get her back.” Ruby agreed, speaking for everyone, knowing that they all would agree full heartedly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Pietro’s breath hitched, his eyes gleaming with tears he refused to shed. Never in his wildest dreams did he ever think Penny would have friends, not only who saw her as more than an android, but who were willing to share their Aura with her. It was with a heavy heart he told them it wasn’t possible. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Penny’s core has been calibrated to a certain Aura.” He tried to explain. “It’s like giving a blood transfusion, only compatible Aura will work, and since every person’s Aura is unique…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then why not take some of mine?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>None had expected the new voice, it sounded hoarse and tired but the new arrival leaned her weight on Ren thankfully, her body too exhausted and injured to support itself fully just yet.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nora, Klein said you should be resting.” Weiss informed Nora, who’s breathing was still strained.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She insisted.” Ren admitted, shaking his head slightly. He had protested against Nora getting out of bed and, although things were still painfully awkward between the two, he knew she would have dragged herself here if he’d let her, so he offered her his shoulder instead. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You need an Aura compatible with Penny’s, right?” Nora struggled to say, looking at her friends before her aqua eyes stopped on Pietro. “Well part of mine was originally Penny’s- the Maiden’s power.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Could that work?” Ruby asked, looking down at Pietro.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, I will need time to repair Penny’s core and the machinery.” The doctor said thoughtfully, the new calculations already crossing through his mind. “But if it had already previously accepted the Maiden’s Aura, I don't see why it shouldn’t this time round as well.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“One little flaw with your plan,” Maria piped in, “Don’t you need to die for the Maiden’s power to transfer?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That shouldn’t be the case.” Reassured her Pietro, “Several years ago Ironwood had utilised a prototype of my Aura transfer machine for that very reason. Though the process would still be excruciatingly painful.'' The doctor warned Nora.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jaune opened his mouth to protest, remembering how that machine had been used on Pyrrha but Nora spoke over him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Penny sacrificed herself to keep me safe.” Nora insisted, “The least I can do is help get her back,”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It could take several months though…” Pietro tried to warn, but Nora smiled, standing a little straighter while still using Ren for support. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s fine.” She smiled, “We’ve got a trip to Vacuo to plan.”</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>“My queen.” Cinder announced, bowing her head as she fell to one knee. “Hazel will be here with the prisoners shortly.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Salem’s back was turned to her, her tall menacing form stood before a vast lake of dark, viscous fluid, a thick layer of violet mist lingered across its surface as rancid bubbles burst, disrupting it’s almost inky surface. Cinder had rarely wondered this close to the lake, even when a small portion of it had been infused with Monstra, giving the Grimm the ability to conjure more of its kind, Cinder had steered clear, its aura sent a deathly chill across her body.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Our numbers have dwindled significantly, wouldn’t you say?” The witch observed, still not looking upon the woman. “Watts and your two pets are no longer a part of our game.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pawns, they were always meant to be played and sacrificed.” Cinder cruelly responded, unable to wrap her head around what had caused that foolish girl, Emerald, to betray Salem in such a way, had she not learnt that her actions reflected themselves on Cinder?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Would you call our battle of Atlas a victory?” Salem suddenly asked. Cinder hesitated to answer, they had failed in both acquiring the Winter Maiden's power and the Relic of Creation, Cinder would call it many things but not a victory.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We will win the next battle.” Cinder finally answered. “With Mercury and Tyrian already in Vacuo…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I call it an enlightening experience.” Salem interrupted, causing Cinder’s words to die on her lips. “My little experiment with the Hound has shown me much. Tell me Cinder, why does Ruby Rose continue to best even my most skilled pieces?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Irritating stubbornness?” Cinder muttered, flinching slightly as she felt Salem’s cold eyes fall upon her as the immortal woman turned slightly to look at her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ruby Rose is believed to be the heroine of this tragic tale.” She continued to say, turning her attention back to the lake. “The silver eyed warrior that would save Remnant from the witch.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“My queen? I-I don’t understand.” Stammered Cinder, looking up at Salem. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ruby Rose may be believed to be Remnant's hero but, she possesses the same fatal flaw all storybook characters possess.” Salem paused as she reached out her hands and an orb of dark fluid hovered out of the lake, contorting slightly as it hovered to eye level, the witch inspecting it with scrutiny. “She cares far too much.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you think the great Ruby Rose will be pleased to see her fallen companions again?” And, as Salem spoke her ominous words the orb began to twist into what first looked like a five pointed star but, its limbs began to extend, Salem forcing the mass of darkness into something far more hideous, and far more humanoid.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>I can't believe that was the last chapter for this volume :o Thank you so so much for reading and I really hope you enjoyed the update and the story. Now I will admit I will be taking one week break as I've got a few tests coming up but I've already posted the chapter of the Vol 2: Heritage. Feel free to <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/30075699">check it out</a>. Thank you once again for reading :D</b>
</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>